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Foreword | In Australia 'open-street' or 'town centre' CCTV refers to visual surveillance systems established in the main by local government authorities in cooperation with police to monitor public spaces such as malls and major thoroughfares. This paper is therefore not concerned with other uses of CCTV such as its deployment on public transport networks, within privately regulated commercial spaces such as casinos and shopping malls, or in retail outlets.

Foreword | Crime Stoppers Victoria (CSV) commenced in 1987 and is "a community-based initiative which encourages members of the public to provide information on unsolved crimes, wanted people and people they know are involved in criminal activity"(www.vic.crimestoppers.com.au). It is one of over 1000 Crime Stoppers programs around the world all of which provide a mechanism for citizens to pass information anonymously to the police by phone.

Foreword | Violence, threats and intimidation confront many professionals working in the area of child protection. While there has been increased international concern about this topic, there has been no previous Australian investigation that documented the incidence and effects of these issues across the range of child protection workers. The research described in this paper is the first of its kind in Australia.

Foreword | Although there are no national data on youth gangs in Australia there is a perception that youth gangs are an emerging problem. This paper draws largely on overseas attempts to deal with gang related activity and the extent to which they have been successful. The most successful interventions have some combination of coercive and developmental measures. A key issue for both policy makers and practitioners is the weight given to particular measures within the context of an overall strategy.

Foreword | A range of criminal activity takes place in marine environments. Combating this crime is a challenge for state, national and international regulators. The illicit activity can include illegal fishing, unauthorised hunting of protected species, causing damage to coral reefs, polluting, people smuggling, drug trafficking, and the commission of personal crimes (including violence). The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP) is renowned as the world's largest living organism.

Foreword | The use of cocaine in Australia, among both the general population and 'high-risk' groups, has traditionally been low. However, several indicators suggest that use of this drug has increased, especially among 'high-risk' groups during the recent heroin shortage. There have also been increases in the number of arrests related to cocaine over the past few years, which is a cause for concern.

Foreword | Indigenous participation in sentencing procedures has been occurring informally in remote communities for some time. During the late 1990s, formalisation of this practice began in urban areas with the advent of Indigenous sentencing and Circle Courts. Formalisation has also occurred in remote areas. The aim has been to make court processes more culturally appropriate, to engender greater trust between Indigenous communities and judicial officers, and to permit a more informal and open exchange of information about defendants and their cases.

Foreword | As part of the Australian Institute of Criminology's commitment to building
an evidence base on the effects of Australian policing initiatives this paper
explores the impact of a targeted policing operation to reduce property crime.
By comparing property crime data for the ACT and surrounding areas of NSW, the
paper finds no evidence for displacement, either spatially or by crime type
following a significant burglary reduction strategy conducted in the ACT in

Foreword | The Internet has increased the range, volume and accessibility of sexually abusive imagery, including child pornography. Child pornography depicts the sexual or sexualised physical abuse of children under 16 years of age. Australia has joined many other nations in an international effort to combat this multi-faceted global menace that combines both heavily networked and highly individualised criminal behaviour. This paper examines the typology of online child pornography offending, as well as law enforcement responses to the problem.

Foreword | Modern corrections practice requires an assessment of the risk of reoffending on at least two levels. First, risk assessments are necessary to decide which offenders should be targeted for rehabilitation. Second, risk assessment is necessary to deal with the increasing demand by the public and politicians that offenders who are at a high risk of reoffending, especially violent and sexual offending, should not be released prematurely. This paper reports on a risk assessment tool that has been developed specifically for Indigenous offenders.

Foreword | The concept of 'risk assessment' is of increasing relevance when dealing with the prevention of criminal behaviour. This risk can be examined from a number of viewpoints. In an earlier Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice paper (no. 280) the risk of reoffending by Indigenous male violent and sexual offenders was examined. This paper looks at the issue from a mental health perspective.

Foreword | Adolescents who develop severe conduct disorders are at greater risk of becoming involved in juvenile crime, including property crime, interpersonal violence, theft, arson and illegal substance use. Prior research has found that dysfunctional parenting practices often place children at risk of developing conduct problems and are among the strongest predictors of later delinquent behaviour. Various programs have been developed to assist parents in improving their parenting skills.

Foreword | Research in the past decade has found that certain ways of responding to domestic partner abusers, particularly psycho-educational approaches, can be effective in modifying abusive behaviours. The study described in this paper sought to classify male domestic partner abusers by certain identified characteristics and determine whether they responded differently to a Men's Behaviour Change Program conducted by community agencies in regional Victoria.

Foreword | The Institute's recent work on adult male offenders has found that the most serious and persistent adult offenders had been detained as a juvenile (see Trends & issues no 267). In terms of crime reduction, interventions that focus on reducing the likelihood of juveniles escalating to adult offenders will have significant benefits for the whole of the Australian community.