Oceania

OPINION: Two recent reports into modern slavery have highlighted Australia’s leading role in efforts to eradicate human trafficking and modern slavery; Australian Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay and research assistant Jennifer Katrib believe the reports also underline the importance of Australia’s continued leadership in this role, both for the country and for the wider region.

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ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: The AIPIO ‘Intelligence International 2022’ conference and exhibition - to be held in the Sofitel Melbourne, 23-26 October – brings together over 50 national and international leaders offering subject matter expertise to navigate collaboration across capability development, new partnerships, and emerging ethical dilemmas. The event is a hybrid event with both in person and online registrations available.

ANALYSIS: A ‘whole of government approach’ to human trafficking in Australia, which combines awareness raising with a focus on support for victims and an understanding of their complex needs, has led to a significant increase in the number of victims identified across a wide range of modern slavery-related crimes including forced marriage, forced labour, sexual exploitation and organ trafficking, as Policing Insight Contributing Editor Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: Improving mental health and wellbeing for police, as well as the response to those in mental health crisis, is a key concern for law enforcement globally; Jacqueline Durand, Acting Director (Strategy) at the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency (ANZPAA), looks at what is being done in both countries to support officers, as well as efforts to respond collaboratively with paramedics and mental health to those community members in crisis.

OPINION: The campaign to raise the age of criminal responsibility in Australia from 10 to 14 continues to gather pace; but Dr Terry Goldsworthy, a former police officer and now Associate Professor at Bond University, argues that incarceration of youth offenders is a sentencing outcome rather than a determination of criminal responsibility, and raising the age of responsibility will do little to address the underlying causes of youth crime.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: This is a world-first collaboration presenting the best available evidence that supports excellence in fighting crime, building trust and leadership to police across the globe. The programme features a range of operationally focussed and police-led strategies to tackle complex crime and policing challenges.

QUEEN ELIZABETH II: As the UK Royal Family entered a period of mourning following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday, Policing Insight looks at some of the tributes and messages of condolence that have been sent from the policing family in the UK and overseas.

QUEEN ELIZABETH II: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has sadly died today. Our publisher Bernard Rix expresses condolences on behalf of the the team at Policing Insight and PolicingTV.

ANALYSIS: As many as one in three people in Australia, New Zealand and the UK have experienced image-based abuse, yet fewer than half of those who witness it have intervened; research by Dr Asher Flynn of Monash University, Elena Cama of the University of New South Wales, and Dr Adrian Scott of Goldsmiths, University of London explores why people do or don’t intervene in such instances, and the vital role that bystander intervention programs could play in responding to image-based abuse.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: The Australian Institute of Professional Intelligence Officers (AIPIO) is launching the International Intelligence Conference 2022 (II2022). AIPIO President Dr Phil Kowalick introduces the conference and invites members and other delegates to take part 23rd to 26th of October 2022 in person and online.

ANALYSIS: When human remains were found in two suitcases bought in a storage auction in New Zealand it made headline news around the world, but dead bodies are discovered in bags and suitcases with surprising regularity; Dr Paola Magni, Senior Lecturer in Forensic Science at Murdoch University, explains the key role insects can play in determining the details of such deaths, and outlines a ground-breaking experiment underway in Western Australia which will help to solve such crimes.

OPINION: The prospect of the increasing police use of artificial intelligence (AI), particularly around predictive policing, have prompted concerns over potential bias, and the need for transparency and explainability; Dr Nick Evans of the University of Tasmania believes that with the right safeguards in place, the use of AI could establish built-in objectivity for policing decisions, and potentially greater trust and confidence in police decision-making.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Presented by the Australian and New Zealand Police Commissioners and supported by Policing Insight as Global Media Partner, this 2-day ANZPAA Police Conference 2022 (PC22) will demonstrate how innovation can be used to ‘navigate the next generation of policing’.

OPINION: A recent joint speech by the heads of MI5 and the FBI highlighted the IP threat posed internationally by China; Dr Ben Stevens and Dr Gatra Priyandita of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute believe that, with Australian organisations under threat from state-sponsored IP theft, the Government’s recently elevated cybersecurity focus should be expanded to include a commission to examine the theft of Australian IP.

FEATURE: With more than 240,000 legitimate firearms holders among New Zealand’s five million population, and a large hunting community, previous attempts to tighten firearms licensing have been met with long and loud opposition; but plans for a new gun registry to target firearms criminality have gathered pace in the wake of the Christchurch massacre, and will come into effect next year, as Policing Insight Contributing Editor Sarah Gibbons reports.

FREE SUBSCRIBER ACCESS: Policing Insight welcomes staff, students and researchers at the University of Tasmania who now have FREE access with the start of a new organisation wide subscription. They join a community from many other UK and international institutions, police forces and other criminal justice organisations with an interest in progressive policing. Read on to find out how to use your FREE subscriber access.

INTERVIEW: Against a backdrop of violent arrests and oppressive responses in the 1970s, New South Wales Police has had a difficult relationship with the LGBTQ+ community; Policing Insight Contributing Editor Sarah Gibbons spoke to NSW Assistant Commissioner Gelina Talbot about the journey the force has been on to rebuild relationships, addressing equality and diversity issues internally, and her own Leadership Award for LGBTQ+ inclusion.

ANALYSIS: The recent Spanish seizure of a number of underwater ‘narco drones’ capable of carrying around 200kgs of drug while being operated remotely has highlighted the growth in one narcotics trafficking method; Professor Natalie Klein of UNSW Sydney and Dr Rob McLaughlin of the Australian National University believe both Australian and international law will need to be updated to be able to act effectively against those using such techniques.

Job advertisement: Policing Insight is growing its editorial coverage of policing in Australia and New Zealand, and we are looking for freelance writers with an interest/expertise in policing and great contacts to join our team. The role involves keeping up with latest developments in policing through engagement with police forces, government and relevant academic, third-sector and commercial organisations, pitching and completing feature article ideas, and fulfilling commissions from our editor.

INTERVIEW: With a career combining operational policing and complex investigation with academia, Dr Tracey Green recently took up her post as CEO of the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency with greater insight than most into the demands facing law enforcement; she spoke to Policing Insight Editor Keith Potter about the Agency’s work on immediate and long-term policing challenges, the importance of sharing good practice, and the benefits of collaboration between police and academics.

ANALYSIS: Australia’s National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program offers a unique insight into drug use across the country; Dr John Coyne, head of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Northern Australia Strategic Policy Centre, believes results from the program in the wake of one of the country’s biggest enforcement operations highlight the difficulties of trying to measure the success of drug strategies in terms of seizures and arrests.

ANALYSIS: New Zealand Police’s Understanding Policing Delivery programme represents a new approach to delivering on fairness and equity; Deputy Chief Executive Mark Evans, chair of the Governance Group guiding this work, explains more about the programme and how working with senior community representatives, experienced academics and local researchers aims to deliver evidence-based insights and opportunities with wide-ranging support – including from frontline Police staff.

ANALYSIS: Over the past five years a series of drug deaths in Australia has highlighted the arrival of an increasing range of synthetic drugs, many originating from factories in China and India and ordered online; this article from the Lens, the research publication of Monash University, explores the forensic medicine efforts of ‘toxico-surveillance’ specialists to identify and track the influx of new illicit drugs, and the dangers they represent.