The Australian methylamphetamine market: the national picture

The Australian Methylamphetamine Market provide a concise understanding of the nature of organised criminal involvement in the Australian methylamphetamine market. The report consolidates open source information with operational and strategic intelligence to inform the Australian public on what the Australian Crime Commission sees as a significant threat to the Australian community. It is intended for the report to inform the national response to the methylamphetamine problem. Aim This report aims to provide a concise understanding of the nature of organised crime involvement in the Australian methylamphetamine market. The ACC monitors all illicit drug markets through its High Risk and Emerging Drugs Special Operation. Through this work, the ACC has assessed that methylamphetamine poses the greatest threat to the Australian public of all illicit drug types. The ACC’s annual Illicit Drug Data Report provides a detailed and comprehensive statistical picture of the illicit drug threat to Australia and provides an in-depth statistical analysis of the illicit drug market. The Australian Methylamphetamine Market: The National Picture is a complementary intelligence report. This report provides a brief summation of the national picture of the methylamphetamine threat. It explores the international and national dimensions of the methylamphetamine market, outlines the role of organised crime in driving the Australian market, the nature of the market, and the harms associated with methylamphetamine use. It also examines the diversion of precursor chemicals required to produce methylamphetamine in clandestine laboratories. It does this by consolidating open source information with operational and strategic intelligence collected by the ACC and Commonwealth, state and territory law enforcement agencies. The release of this report is designed to: ƒƒ inform the widest possible audience, including those who are not privy to classified law enforcement intelligence ƒƒ generate discussion and dialogue about what can be done to tackle the methylamphetamine problem ƒƒ enable individuals, friends and families to understand the nature of the harms caused by methylamphetamine and influence those around them to minimise harm ƒƒ inform the national response to the methylamphetamine market

Caution versus conference referral: a comparison of police diversion in reducing re-contact by first-time Indigenous juvenile offenders in South Australia

This report compares the effectiveness of formal police cautioning and family conferencing in reducing re-contact with the criminal justice system by first-time Indigenous juvenile offenders. Introduction The over-representation of Indigenous young people in the criminal justice system remains a significant social justice and public policy issue in Australia. It has been suggested that an increased use of effective police diversion can reduce Indigenous over-representation. Diversion can be defined as the practice of diverting young people from entering or continuing into the formal criminal justice system and commonly involves pre-court processes and programs. Two of the most frequently used methods of diversion in South Australia are formal police cautioning and family conferencing. While a number of studies have investigated the effectiveness of diversion in reducing re-offending by Indigenous juveniles, only Cunningham (2007) and Allard et al. (2009) have investigated the effectiveness of formal police cautioning and family conferencing in reducing re-offending by first-time Indigenous juvenile offenders (F-TIJOs). However, these two studies report conflicting findings and contain notable methodological limitations, including: (i) short follow-up periods, (ii) failure to track re-offending into adulthood, (iii) small sample sizes, (iv) failure to examine more than two recidivism outcomes, and (v) risks of bias due to failure to control for significant predictors of re-offending and failure to analyse data on intention to treat. The current study aimed to compare the effectiveness of two methods of diversion; cautioning and referral to conferencing, in reducing re-contact by F-TIJOs using methods to overcome the limitations of previous research. To address these methodological limitations the current study (i) employed a follow-up period of 24 months for each offender regardless of whether this period extended into the adult justice system, (ii) analysed four recidivism outcomes, (iii) analysed data on intention to treat, and (iv) employed propensity score matching to control for significant predictors of re-offending. The following research question was examined: (1) Did the proportion of F-TIJOs who re-contacted with police within 24 months differ between those who received a formal police caution and those who received a referral to a family conference? For those who re-contacted within 24 months, the following research questions were also examined: (2) Did the frequency of re-contact differ between F-TIJOs who received a formal police caution and those who received a referral to a family conference?, (3) Did the seriousness of first re-contact differ between F-TIJOs who received a formal police caution and those who received a referral to a family conference?, and (4) Did time to re-contact differ between F-TIJOs who received a formal police caution and those who received a referral to a family conference

Towards effective practice in offender supervision

This paper has been prepared principally for the Performance Improvement Strategy Group - a group convened by the Community Justice Division of the Scottish Government to advise and assist in the development of criminal justice social work services in particular and of community justice more generally. The PISG comprises representatives of the Scottish Government's Community Justice Division, of the Effective Practice Unit, of the Association of Directors of Social Work, of the voluntary sector service providers in Scotland, of the Scottish Prison Service, of the Risk Management Authority and from various Scottish universities. Discussions between the chair and some of the members of the PISG charged with leading work-streams on accreditation, interventions and inspection, indicated the need for the provision of a summary of effective practice that was sensitive to the unique Scottish context for the community supervision of offenders. The paper aims to provide that summary and to develop some ideas around a Scottish model of effective practice in offender supervision; as such it is concerned principally with the roles and tasks of criminal justice social work staff rather than with the important but broader debates around community and criminal justice in Scotland

New South Wales custody statistics: quarterly update March 2015

This report presents 24 months of reception, discharge and custody population data and comparisons between the current and previous quarter for age, gender, indigenous status, most serious offence and the average length of stay. Separate figures are presented for juveniles and adults. The counting unit is a cust odial episode. An individual will be counted multiple times in a period if they have multiple custodial episodes in that period. The data in this report are extracted from the Corrective Services NSW (CSNSW) Offender Integrated Management System (OIMS) and the Juvenile Justice NSW (JJNSW) Client Information Management System (CIMS). The adult custody population figures include only those persons held in gazetted correctional centres managed by CSNSW. This includes: persons managed as forensic patients, persons held after expiry of their sentence awaiting deportation and persons awaiting extradition to another jurisdiction. Persons in the Special Purpose Centre at Long Bay Correctional Centre are not included. In addition to gazetted correctional centres, CSNSW manages a number of police/court cell complexes. This report excludes persons received into and then discharged from a CSNSW managed 24 hour police/court cell complex without entering a gazetted correctional centre. Adults refused police bail but not held in a gazetted correctional centre are not included. Custody population figures are counted as at midnight on the last day of the month or quarter as appropriate. Reception and discharge figures are those during each month or quarter as appropriate

Australian Bureau of Statistics personal safety, Australia 2012: the South Australian perspective

Introduction: This report summarises the key South Australian findings from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Personal Safety, Australia, 2012 (cat. no. 4906.0) in which Australia-wide and very limited state-specific information was released on 11 December 2013 with additional state-specific information released on 7 July 2014. Personal Safety, Australia, 2012 provides the results of an Australia-wide personal safety survey undertaken by the ABS from February to December 2012. The survey collected information about the nature and extent of violence experienced by men and women since the age of 15, including their experience of violence in the 12 months prior to the survey. Also collected was detailed information about men\u27s and women\u27s experience of current and previous partner violence, physical and sexual violence, and lifetime experience of stalking. This is the second time the personal safety survey has been conducted, with the first survey carried out in 2005. The scope, content and data collection methods for the two surveys are very similar, with the exception of a significantly larger sample size for the latest survey, and slight changes to the questions and/or definitions to improve respondents’ understanding of the questions. These changes are minimal and should not impact on the comparability of data between 2005 and 2012

Reporting doping in sport: national level athletes' perceptions of their role in doping prevention.

This paper qualitatively explores national level athletes' willingness to report doping in sport. Following ethical approval, semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine national level athletes from rugby league (n = 5) and track and field athletics (n = 4). Thematic analysis established the main themes within the data. Contextual differences existed around the role that athletes perceived they would play if they became aware of doping. Specifically, track and field athletes would adopt the role of a whistle-blower and report individuals who were doping in their sport. In comparison, the rugby league players highlighted a moral dilemma. Despite disagreeing with their teammates' actions, the players would adhere to a code of silence and refrain from reporting doping. Taking these findings into account, prevention programs might focus on changing broader group and community norms around doping. In doing so, community members' receptivity to prevention messages may increase. Moreover, developing skills to intervene (e.g., speaking out against social norms that support doping behavior) or increasing awareness of reporting lines could enhance community responsibility for doping prevention. In sum, the findings highlight the need to consider the context of sport and emphasize that a one-size-fits-all approach to anti-doping is problematic

Early risk factors for adolescent antisocial behaviour: an Australian longitudinal study

Objective: This investigation utilizes data from an Australian longitudinal study to identify early risk factors for adolescent antisocial behaviour. Method: Analyses are based on data from the Mater University Study of Pregnancy, an on-going longitudinal investigation of women’s and children’s health and development involving over 8000 participants. Five types of risk factors (child characteristics, perinatal factors, maternal/familial characteristics, maternal pre- and post-natal substance use and parenting practices) were included in analyses and were based on maternal reports, child assessments and medical records. Adolescent antisocial behaviour was measured when children were 14 years old, using the delinquency subscale of the Child Behaviour Checklist. Results: Based on a series of logistic regression models, significant risk factors for adolescent antisocial behaviour included children’s prior problem behaviour (i.e. aggression and attention/restlessness problems at age 5 years) and marital instability, which doubled or tripled the odds of antisocial behaviour. Perinatal factors, maternal substance use, and parenting practices were relatively poor predictors of antisocial behaviour. Conclusions: Few studies have assessed early predictors of antisocial behaviour in Australia and the current results can be used to inform prevention programs that target risk factors likely to lead to problem outcomes for Australian youth

Restorative Justice Cases in Scotland:Factors Related to Participation, the Restorative Process, Agreement Rates and Forms of Reparation

This research draws on four years of data from three restorative justice services in Scotland to explore the factors associated with service user participation, agreement rates, the use of direct or indirect restorative processes, and different forms of reparation. Among other things, the results show that participation is more likely if the accused is contacted before the victim, if the alleged offence involves vandalism, and if the accused is male or young or does not have a recorded history of offending. The results suggest that, given appropriate ethical and safety considerations, the default practice should be to approach the accused first. The implications of the results are discussed within a theoretical framework

Using quantitative wastewater analysis to measure daily usage of conventional and emerging illicit drugs at an annual music festival

Introduction and Aims: Wastewater analysis provides a non-intrusive way of measuring drug use within a population. We used this approach to determine daily use of conventional illicit drugs [cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamine and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)] and emerging illicit psychostimulants (benzylpiperazine, mephedrone and methylone) in two consecutive years (2010 and 2011) at an annual music festival. Design and Methods: Daily composite wastewater samples, representative of the festival, were collected from the on-site wastewater treatment plant and analysed for drug metabolites. Data over 2 years were compared using Wilcoxon matched-pair test. Data from 2010 festival were compared with data collected at the same time from a nearby urban community using equivalent methods. Results: Conventional illicit drugs were detected in all samples whereas emerging illicit psychostimulants were found only on specific days. The estimated per capita consumption of MDMA, cocaine and cannabis was similar between the two festival years. Statistically significant (

"Spice", "Kryptonite", "Black Mamba": An overview of brand names and marketing stragtegies of Novel Psychoactive Substances on the Web

Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPSs) are often sold online as “legal” and “safer” alternatives to International Controlled Drugs (ICDs) with captivating marketing strategies. Our aim was to review and summarize such strategies in terms of the appearance of the products, the brand names, and the latest trends in the illicit online marketplaces. Methods: Scientific data were searched in PsychInfo and Pubmed databases; results were integrated with an extensive monitoring of Internet (websites, online shops, chat rooms, fora, social networks) and media sources in nine languages (English, French, Farsi, Portuguese, Arabic, Russian, Spanish, and Chinese simplified/traditional) available from secure databases of the Global Public Health Intelligence Network. Results: Evolving strategies for the online diffusion and the retail of NPSs have been identified, including discounts and periodic offers on chosen products. Advertisements and new brand names have been designed to attract customers, especially young people. An increased number of retailers have been recorded as well as new Web platforms and privacy systems. Discussion: NPSs represent an unprecedented challenge in the field of public health with social, cultural, legal, and political implications.Web monitoring activities are essential for mapping the diffusion of NPSs and for supporting innovative Web-based prevention programmes.Peer reviewedSubmitted Versio