News

Two keynote presentations from the International and Serious Organised Crime conference 2013 have been uploaded to Criminology TV by the Australian Institute of Criminology

http://www.aic.gov.au/

The Criminology Program in the Department of Sociology and Criminology at Penn State, University Park campus, invites applications for an assistant or associate tenure-line position to begin August, 2014. The area of research specialization within criminology is open. Candidates should have a strong publication record, a strong commitment to securing external funding, and a commitment to teaching and mentoring students. Candidates are expected to have completed the Ph.D. by the time of appointment. Information regarding the department can be found at: http://www.sociology.psu.edu.  

Review of applications will begin October 1, 2013.

https://app2.ohr.psu.edu/jobs/home_EJMS/view_faculty.cfm#40414

Friday, September 20, 2013 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM 

The webinar targets at police officers and magistrates from EU Member States involved in the investigation of serious crimes who can potentially become involved in a Joint Investigation Team. Additionally trainers and educators interested in the application of the CEPOL JITs online learning module in training or courses are invited to attend the online event.

The aim of this webinar is to raise awareness about Joint Investigation Teams, JITs National Support, JITs Evaluation, the JITs Network Secretariat and the update of the Joint Investigation Teams online module.

https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/661740454

 

National Institute of Justice (NIJ)

NIJ's Multisite Adult Drug Court Evaluation highlights important considerations when analyzing the costs and benefits of crime interventions. 

John Roman: "Policymakers, philanthropists and others interested in what works in reforming criminal justice policy and practice are concerned traditionally with whether new approaches have better outcomes than business as usual. But funders at all levels increasingly see themselves as investors and are concerned not only with outcomes but also with costs and benefits. They ask whether the investment of additional resources is worth the added costs — and whether they will see those benefits down the road in their budgets. A cost-benefit analysis (CBA) can help answer these questions, but its application to criminology can be tricky."

http://nij.gov/journals/272/cost-benefit.htm

Present and discuss the findings: 7 November 2013, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Project SAFIRE (Scientific Approach to Formulate Indicators and Responses to Radicalisation) is a European project financed in the framework of the FP7 Program and will end November 2013.

With keynote speakers and experts in the field of radicalisation and terrorism:

 Dr. Arie W. Kruglanski – UMCP START - http://www.start.umd.edu/start/

 Dr. Fathali M. Moghaddam - http://fathalimoghaddam.com/home.html

 Daniel Köler, Exit Germany - http://www.exit-deutschland.de/

Drs. Saskia G. Tempelman – NCTV - http://www.nctv.nl/

Information on the project - http://www.safire-project.eu/

A project of the Center for Court Innovation, the Midtown Community Court reduces crime and incarceration by linking defendants to community service projects and offering drug treatment, mental health counseling, and job training instead of jail. 

http://www.courtinnovation.org/

Tuesday, 29 October 2013 at 10:00 PM -Wednesday, 30 October 2013 at 1:30 PM (EST)

Australian Institute of Criminology, 74 Leichhardt St, Griffith, ACT2603

Organised by the Australian Institute of Criminology and the International Society for Criminology, the Australian forum will take the form of a discussion lead by Professor Dr Stephan Parmentier that will explore the issue of how the criminal justice system is viewed in Europe, with a discussion by a panel of eminent Australian criminologists on the similarities and differences.

More information and FREE registration.

Police scientists from Germany, Europe and overseas analyse the problems of Europe’s present and future German Police University, Münster-Hiltrup, 11.-13. September 2013

Following Oslo (2010), Madrid (2011) and Lyon (2012), the “European Research and Science Conference” held annually since 2003 by the European Police Academy (CEPOL) will be convened at German Police University

(DHPol) in Münster-Hiltrup from 11 – 13 September 2013.  Thus, after a period of six years, German Police University will again host about 130 national and international participants. For the programme of the conference, renowned police scientists could be attracted, among them Professor James Sheptycki from York University (Toronto, Canada).

The EU agency CEPOL, established in 2001 as a network, presently comprises the 28 Member States of the European Union (EU) as well as Iceland, Norway and Switzerland (further information at www.cepol.europa.eu). Germany’s representative in this network is the German Police University.

The expert speeches will focus on the impacts which the present financial crisis and the ensuing budgetary constraints will have on security and policing. Further main topics are community policing and the way of dealing with minorities. The participants will have the chance to gain an insight into present findings of police research and innovative policing concepts.

https://www.cepol.europa.eu/index.php?id=research-science-conferences

Council of State Governments Justice Center

September 6, 2013

Reducing recidivism through the application of evidence-based practices was strongly emphasized at a recent conference for practitioners and leaders in community corrections. At the American Parole and Probation Association’s 38th annual training institute, which took place July 28-31 in Baltimore, MD, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Deputy Director Kristin Mahoney and Council of State Governments Justice Center (CSG Justice Center) Policy Analyst Laura Zeliger facilitated a workshop on the successes of and principles behind BJA’s Smart Probation: Reducing Prison Populations, Saving Money, and Creating Safer Communities program. During the presentation, practitioners from Wisconsin and California shared their strategies on how to apply conceptual principles to real-world situations. Click here.

Sept. 27, 2013 from 1:00 – 3:30 p.m. at Hart House, University of Toronto

The Canadian Red Cross will be hosting the 1st Annual International Humanitarian Law Conference featuring a panel discussion on Cyber Warfare on Friday, Sept. 27th, 2013, from 1:00-3:30pm (reception to follow) at the University of Toronto’s Hart House.
This event will host representatives from: 

This conference is eligible towards the Law Society of Upper Canada’s (LSUC) CPD requirements as Substantive Hours. Please note that this program is not accredited for Professionalism Hours or the New Member Requirement. Please visit the LSUC’s CPD Eligible Educational Activities webpage for more information: www.lsuc.on.ca/

30 August 2013 - UNODC's Office in Brazil launched a pilot project this week together with the Federal Government to promote protective family relationships. Research has shown that families can either act as a powerful risk or a protective factor in child and youth development. Focusing on family skills is therefore key to preventing children and adolescents from using drugs, getting involved in crime and becoming vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. 

The Youth Forum on Alcohol and Binge Drinking will aim to provide a unique opportunity for young people (aged 12-25) of Northern Territory in Australia to learn, discuss and share their ideas about alcohol and binge drinking. A particular focus of this two-day event will be on developing youth-friendly health promotion resources, through interactive skills-based workshops, presentations based on the latest research on alcohol and youth participation and activities aiming to empower participants to actively influence policy and service delivery at a local and national level. 

Submitted by ani on Tue, 2013-09-10 11:02

This new publication seeks to increase understanding of the need for, and the process of, conducting outcome evaluations of parenting programmes in low- and middle-income countries.

The result of a collaboration between the University of Cape Town, WHO, UNICEF, and the WHO-led Violence Prevention Alliance, the guidance is aimed at policy-makers; programme planners and developers; high-level practitioners in government ministries; representatives of nongovernmental and community-based organizations; and donors working in the area of violence prevention. The publication focuses on parenting programmes to prevent child maltreatment and other forms of violence later in life such as youth and intimate partner violence.

Center for Court Innovation

The Midtown Community Court was founded in 1993 as a public-private partnership involving the New York State Court System, the City of New York, and the Fund for the City of New York, among others. Its goals: to develop creative solutions to quality-of-life offending and to engage the community as a partner in the delivery of justice. 

http://www.courtinnovation.org/20th-anniversary

Neighborhood-Based Supervision:
A Review of Promising Practices

Hosted by the National Reentry Resource Center 

The practice of neighborhood-based supervision allows parole officers to interact closely with parolees within their social environment, as well as with community organizations and residents, providing them with insight into the parolees’ susceptibility to negative influences in the neighborhood. This webinar will provide an overview of the research and current practices of neighborhood-based supervision during the post-release stage of reentry. This webinar will be particularly informative to parole officers in the field who work directly with parolees, field supervisors, community corrections administrators, other justice system personnel, and those working for community organizations with an interest in enhancing successful offender reentry strategies and initiatives.

Date: Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Time: 2:00-3:30 p.m. ET

Starting in 2010, the research group focuses on causes and consequences of human trafficking. An interdisciplinary project including economists, political scientists and criminologists worked together in order to increase the availability of data and gain insights into the determinants and consequences of trafficking on a global level. Since 2011 they are located at Heidelberg University providing yearly updates of the 3P-Anti Trafficking Policy Index developed in Cho et al. (forthcoming). Increasing public awareness is one of the main goals in fighting human trafficking. On this webpage they provide information on their recent research results, the 3P-index and current trends in anti-trafficking policies. 

http://www.human-trafficking-research.org/

....chance to watch webcasts and read articles from the 2013 symposium. You can also access some of this year´s power point presentations. To find our more, please visit the symposium website 

http://www.criminologysymposium.com/

"Understanding evidence" is a new online resource developed by the US-CDC to help with evidence-based decision-making in violence prevention. It is full of useful information about how to make the most of the scientific evidence and where to find it: http://vetoviolence.cdc.gov/evidence/#&panel1-1 

17/09/2013

The European Commission proposed to strengthen the European Union’s ability to respond to ‘legal highs’ – new psychoactive substances used as alternatives to illicit drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy. 

http://ec.europa.eu/justice/newsroom/anti-drugs/news/130917_en.htm

Statistical Commission

United Nations; E/CN.3/2013/11

Economic and Social Council 

Forty-fourth session

26 February-1 March 2013

Item 3 (j) of the provisional agenda*

Items for discussion and decision: crime statistics

Note by the Secretary-General

On September 19, 2013, the Council of State Governments Justice Center released Integrated Reentry and Employment Strategies: Reducing Recidivism and Promoting Job Readiness, a white paper that provides a new tool that can be used as a starting point for cross-systems collaborations to reduce reincarceration and unemployment among adults with criminal histories. It presents guidance to policymakers, corrections and community supervision administrators, and workforce development providers on how to make the best use of scarce resources by using objective, assessment-based approaches that take into account individuals’ risk of future criminal behavior, level of job readiness, and their need for services in order to produce better reentry, employment, and public safety outcomes.

 13th Australasian Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect with the theme of Protecting children: New solutions to old problems.

The theme reflects the need to innovate and to enhance responses to key policy and practice issues across the sectors involved in preventing and managing child abuse and neglect.

Organised by the Australian Institute of Criminology, the Conference will be held in Melbourne, Australia from the 10th to 13th of November 2013.

The conference will have a program of more than 140 papers, workshops and symposia across a range of areas including:

• Prevention and early intervention approaches
• Child protection systems
• Technology and child maltreatment
• Health and medical responses
• Criminal justice responses
• Child rights and engagement
• Professional practice
• draft prgram https://www.etouches.com/ehome/accan2013/program/?&

Prevention in domestic violence is the theme of this year’s European Crime Prevention Award (ECPA) and Best Practice Conference (BPC). Member States were invited to submit their best practices related to this theme. The ECPA Jury will meet on 11-12 November in Vilnius to evaluate the submitted projects and The BPC and ECPA will take place 11-13 December in Vilnius. Based on the submissions to the ECPA-competition, Lithuania’s Presidency is planning to issue a good practice handbook containing all the key-note speeches, the project presentations and summaries of the discussions, with some recommendations on the theme for European practitioners.http://www.eucpn.org/bpc/index.asp 

http://www.eucpn.org/bpc/index.asp  

GOP workshop Roma 6 / 7 November 2013 

Location Roma Hilton Garden Inn Claridge

Dates & Hours
6th November 10am to 5pm hours
7th November 10am to 3pm

Course programme

- Core Principles and Practical applications of Investigative Psychology
- Sexual and Violent Crime: Distinguishing Offending Styles
- Geographical Offender Profiling: key principles and latest findings
- Practical Uses of Geographical Offender Profiling
- Step-By-Step Guide to using Dragnet Geo-Profiling Software

Objectives: the transmission of principles and operational applications of Investigative Psychology, such as the Offender Profiling and the acquisition of practical competence of the application and use of Geographical Profiling Software Dragnet.

Audience: The course has a limited number access and is designed for professionals in criminal investigative and forensic field such as crime analysts, specialists in the law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, criminal lawyers, psychiatrists and forensic psychologists.

http://www.investigativepsych.net/ip-training/gop-workshop-roma-6-7-november-2013/

The prevention of trauma reactions in police officers: Decreasing reliance on drugs and alcohol

This study represents the first randomised controlled study of a resilience training program, based on empirical evidence and designed to inoculate emergency services personnel against job stressors. It has highlighted the fact that the vast majority of police recruits were resilient to exposure to traumatic events.

Findings at six-month follow-up indicate that more than half of all participants reported a total substance or alcohol involvement score that was at risk level. This suggests the need for clear, comprehensive and widely known policies and procedures to be put in place to identify and support those with either substance or alcohol use problems.

Overall, the results of this study provide support for the inclusion of resilience training in the overall training of new-recruit police officers until further, long-term follow-ups suggest otherwise.

The report is available on the NDLERF website ndlerf.gov.au. 

Council of State Governments Justice Center,  

Module 1: Understanding Mental Health Courts provides a comprehensive introduction to the mental health court program model, summarizing existing research on the impact of mental health courts and describing other program and policy changes that are similarly designed to improve criminal justice outcomes for individuals with mental illnesses. The module features reading material, a multimedia presentation, video interviews with members of a real mental health court team, a detailed activities guide, a quiz, and additional resources for those seeking to learn more.

“This curriculum is an excellent tool for judges and courts interested in launching a mental health court or improving or refining their current court. It is full of valuable information, easy to use, and a resource we consult constantly. It is the practical ‘road map’ to improving the criminal justice system approach to persons with mental illness.”—Hon. Jan Jurden, Judge, Delaware Superior Court

The ACUNS Dissertation Fellowship Award recognizes emerging students of extraordinary potential who have reached the stage of writing an advanced graduate-level dissertation on a topic of direct and demonstrable relevance to the United Nations and/or the UN system. Applications not thus related to the UN and/or UN system will not be considered.

An important component of the Award for its winner is the recognition of excellence that this entails throughout ACUNS’ global community of scholars and practitioners. The Award also includes a monetary component in the amount of $1,500.00 US. http://acuns.org/da2014/ http://acuns.org/da2014/ 

The European Day of Foundations and Donors is a day to raise awareness of public benefit foundations. On October 1^st 2013, foundations from all across the continent will join a common effort to highlight the value of their work. On this day, they will host events and activities in various European countries and invite the public to learn more about foundations.

http://www.dafne-online.eu/Pages/TheEuropeanDayofFoundationsandDonors.aspx

http://www.dafne-online.eu/Pages/TheEuropeanDayofFoundationsandDonors.aspx  

 Australian Institute of Criminology Wednesday, 30 October 2013 from 10:00 AM to 1:30 PM (EST) Griffith, ACT 

Organised by the AIC and the International Society for Criminology, this forum will take the form of a presentation led by Professor Dr Stephan Parmentier that will explore the issue of how the criminal justice system is viewed in Europe. A panel of eminent Australian criminologists will join the discussion on the similarities and differences.

https://worldcrimeforum.eventbrite.com.au/

Kevin Wong
74 Leichhardt Street, Griffith ACT- FREE EVENT
11:00am-12:00pm 2 October 2013

Since coming to power in May 2010, the UK Coalition Government of the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties have forged ahead with Payment by Results (PbR) commissioning of criminal justice services. Four pilot PbR schemes were commissioned 2010 and 2011, two in the community and two in prisons in England. To date only one of these four schemes have completed - at the end of June 2013. In May 2013 the Ministry of Justice announced plans for the wholesale commissioning of community based offender management services across England and Wales through PbR.

In a period of unprecedented reductions in public sector expenditure in the UK, PbR appears to offer a way of commissioning more services for the same (cost) or even more services for less. It is easy it see why PbR has become attractive to the cash strapped UK Government. Proponents of PbR commissioning in the UK have argued that it will benefit commissioners by transferring risk from the commissioner to the service provider and in so doing incentivise the provider to deliver more cost effective services, i.e. better outcomes at the same or reduced cost.

For service providers, the proposed benefits are firstly that service providers are free of bureaucracy and micro-management by commissioners – instead they are able to focus on delivering better services. Secondly, they will have the freedom to innovate, freed from constraints on how to deliver; and thirdly, PbR will provide opportunities for new market entrants from the private and voluntary and community sectors.

Drawing on evidence from the four UK pilots this briefing/presentation will examine the extent to which the benefits of PbR have been realised and what lessons can be learned for the wider application of PbR in the criminal justice system.

http://www.aic.gov.au/events/seminars/2013/wong.html

From 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET today, the CSG Justice Center will livestream Bridging Reentry and Workforce Development: A Shared Approach to Strengthening Communities from Washington, D.C. This forum will feature an overview of the Integrated Reentry and Employment Strategies: Reducing Recidivism and Promoting Job Readiness white paper and will also include discussions among national and state policymakers and practitioners on how this new shared approach can improve job readiness and successful transitions from incarceration or supervision for people with criminal histories.

To watch the livestream, click here  

Are you unemployed and having difficulty paying child support?

Would you like to obtain custody of or visitation rights with your child?

Are you looking for ways to be more involved in your child’s life? 

Dads United for Parenting (D-UP!) is a comprehensive parenting program that will help you to support your children both emotionally and financially. In partnership with the Times Square Ink job training program, D-UP! provides:

• Fatherhood support groups and individual counseling
• Support navigating Family Court, including assisance with child support, custody and visitation
• Job readiness training and placement assistance
• Referrals to legal and social services
• Financial planning and consumer education
• Programming that helps improve decision-making and relationships
• Free family trips