Taped interviews are critical pieces of evidence in obtaining convictions in sexual abuse cases involving children. Prosecutors need a coherent story establishing the details of specific episodes to prosecute individual charges. At the same time, juries often criticise taped evidence when a lack of coherence and clarity makes it difficult to tease apart individual episodes of abuse. Juries also feel that lack of coherence in the tape reduces the credibility of the child witness and makes it difficult to understand the evidence being presented.
Second edition, March 2010
This report outlines the results of a workshop that was held in Mildura, Victoria on 5 and 6 August 2008. The theme of the workshop was Policing substance abuse in Indigenous communities in urban, rural and remote areas.
This statement is provided in accordance with section 8 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act). It refers to the structure of the CRG and the categories of documents it holds, with information as to how access can be made. Any communication made to the CRG in any form, will be available under the FOI Act.
There is strong evidence of an association between the consumption of alcohol and violence (Graham & Homel 2008). Conservative estimates suggest that in 2004–05, the total costs attributable to alcohol-related crime in Australia was $1.7b; the social cost relating to alcohol-related violence (which excludes costs to the criminal justice system) was $187m; and the costs associated with the loss of life due to alcohol-related violent crime amounted to $124m (Collins & Lapsley 2007).
Graffiti refers to the act of marking property with writing, symbols or graphics (Weisel 2002; White 2001). For the purpose of this paper, graffiti is defined as the marking of other people's property without their consent. In this context, graffiti is illegal and in Australia it is a persistent problem that attracts a variety of penalties.
This manual is presented by the Australian Government for the purpose of disseminating information free of charge for the benefit of the public.
The Australian Government does not guarantee, and accepts no legal liability whatsoever, arising from or connected to the accuracy, reliability, currency or completeness of any material contained in this manual or any linked site.
The Australian Covert Bullying Prevalence Study (Cross et al. 2009) was commissioned by the Australian Government and conducted by the Child Health Promotion Research Centre at Edith Cowan University. It has highlighted the growing problem of covert and cyber bullying affecting Australian schools and their students. Covert bullying can be understood as any form of aggressive behaviour that is repeated, intended to cause harm, characterised by an imbalance of power and is hidden from, or unacknowledged by, adults.
This paper presents an overview of some of the key emerging issues in Australian domestic and family violence (D/FV) research. In particular, the paper considers research in the context of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex (GLBTI) communities; among the elderly; those with disabilities and people from cultural and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds; family violence and Indigenous communities; the relevance of homelessness; the impact of D/FV on children; and issues around perpetrator programs.
This is the first of a two part series on spectator violence at sporting events. Part one covers spectator violence at professional sporting events. The second will focus on issues of violence at amateur sporting events, particularly parents as spectators and the behaviours they exhibit. Spectator violence refers to any violent activity that occurs among those attending a sporting event. It can be directed at players, officials or fellow spectators.
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: