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Foreword | In recent years there has been increasing concern about the prevalence of drug driving in Australia. Over the past four years, the majority of Australian states have introduced legislation that makes it an offence to drive with the presence of a range of drugs in the blood or saliva. Using data from the Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA) program, this paper examines the prevalence of drug driving among a sample of police detainees in key sites in 2005 and 2006.

Foreword | Research investigating the methods and motivations of burglars has typically focused on incarcerated offenders. The Australian Institute of Criminology’s Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA) program provided an opportunity for the authors to explore the methods and motivations of those actively involved in committing burglaries, whether or not they had actually been caught or detained for that offence.

In partnership with the Minister for Home Affairs, the Hon Karen Andrews MP, and state and territory police commissioners, the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) today awarded 12 Australian Crime and Violence Prevention Awards to police and community-led projects across the nation in a virtual ceremony.

This paper presents a brief overview of the key diversion programs for Indigenous women currently in operation in Australia, with reference to relevant developments in New Zealand and Canada. It was prepared against the background of recent research on Indigenous women's offending patterns and their over-representation in the criminal justice system (see Bartels 2010), which included the following key findings:

Researchers from the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) have looked into what is often invisible in plain sight: coercive control. The new research released today describes coercive control experiences among Australian women.

The study analysed survey data collected from more than 1,000 Australian women who were asked about their experiences of domestic violence during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and were in a current relationship between February and May 2020.

Foreword | Over the past ten years, there has been considerable discussion of what is often called 'road rage'. Articles appear regularly in the academic literature and the press, and governments have been prompted to take action to control what seems to be a growing incidence of violence associated with motor vehicle use. This paper considers how best to define the problem and to quantify its extent.

The formation of partnerships between communities, government agencies and/or business groups is frequently a powerful approach to the prevention of crime. However, the establishment of crime prevention partnerships should not be an automatic response to all crime problems. Furthermore, partnerships need to be carefully planned and managed and their ongoing effectiveness monitored. This is because even appropriate partnership arrangements can be difficult to implement and costly to maintain (Homel 2005).

Today the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC), in partnership with the Attorney-General the Hon Mark Dreyfus KC MP and state and territory police commissioners will celebrate the Australian Crime and Violence Prevention Awards (ACVPA). 

The ACVPA recognise best practice in the prevention or reduction of violence and other types of crime in Australia and play a vital role in highlighting effective community-based initiatives to prevent crime and violence before it actually occurs.

Previous issues of this bulletin have looked at the role of psychopathology and psychiatric disability in arson. Only a fairly small proportion of arson offenders are ever caught and even fewer become research subjects. People who light fires under the influence of psychopathology, particularly if they become serial offenders and light multiple fires in a discernible pattern, may be more likely to get caught and attract the interest of researchers than those who light fires for more rational reasons.

Foreword | Investigating missing persons cases is a complex field. There is no single service responsible for the investigation or the provision of support to those who are found, or to the family and friends of missing persons. However, police services across Australia play a crucial role in responding to reports of missing people, complemented by non-government search agencies such as The Salvation Army and the Australian Red Cross.

The 10th annual Australian Violence Prevention Awards were announced in Canberra on 18 October 2001. The two national winners were the projects When Love Hurts and the Port Augusta Aboriginal Families Project. Each winner received $10,000. The project Safer Times Round Albury-Wodonga for Women (STRAWS) won the Special Drugs and Alcohol Category Award and $10,000.

Foreword | Controversies over how the law should regulate the presentation of expert testimony on DNA forensic science were explored in an experimental study comparing traditional verbal with audiovisual modes of delivery. Pre-trial DNA knowledge, as assessed in 3,611 jury-eligible Australians, was limited. From this group, 470 citizens watched a simulated homicide trial containing a cognitively-sequenced generic tutorial on DNA profiling evidence. The expert tutorial significantly improved DNA knowledge, irrespective of the mode of presentation.

Foreword | In recent years, the Australian Government has committed significant resources to combating trafficking in persons. Within this larger anti-trafficking effort, the community sector, law enforcement, prosecutors, health professionals and members of the community all have an important role to play. As each sector comes to terms with the reality of trafficking in Australia, it is important that emerging challenges and possible solutions are identified.

A personality disorder is a persistent pattern of inner experience and behaviour that differs markedly from the expectations of the individual's culture, is pervasive and inflexible, and leads to distress or impairment. Sufferers may show inappropriate emotions, perceptions and ways of interacting with others. Having a personality disorder can impact on work, family and social relationships. The disorder may be severe and dominate a person's life, or may be mild with symptoms becoming stronger and problematic during times of increased stress or external pressures.

Foreword | Compared with large organisations, small businesses operate in a distinct and highly resource-constrained operating and technical environment. Their proprietors are often time poor, have minimal bargaining power and have limited financial, technical, legal and personnel resources. It is therefore unsurprising that cloud computing and its promise of smoothing cash flows and dramatically reducing ICT overheads is attractive to small business.