Stopping domestic violence in urban and rural areas: evaluating and improving the effectiveness of domestic violence perpetrator programs. Domestic violence affects up to 36% of women (Mouzos et.al 2004). Its annual economic cost is $8.1b (Access Economics 2004). In 66% of cases children are present (Bagshaw et.al 1999). Effects on women and children are poor mental health, homelessness and impaired work/education performance (VicHealth 2004). As male perpetrators tend to be serial offenders (Ha ....Stopping domestic violence in urban and rural areas: evaluating and improving the effectiveness of domestic violence perpetrator programs. Domestic violence affects up to 36% of women (Mouzos et.al 2004). Its annual economic cost is $8.1b (Access Economics 2004). In 66% of cases children are present (Bagshaw et.al 1999). Effects on women and children are poor mental health, homelessness and impaired work/education performance (VicHealth 2004). As male perpetrators tend to be serial offenders (Hansen et al 2004), there are Australian programs to stop the violence. There are limited and contentious findings about their value and no published evaluation of programs in rural Australia. This research addresses these significant knowledge gaps and is nationally beneficial as the knowledge can ultimately reduce domestic violence prevalence.Read moreRead less
Ageing in prison: A strategic framework for the management of ageing offenders in the Australian criminal justice system. The knowledge and strategies offered by this research will contribute to significant improvements in planning of programs and facilities for Australian prisons and prisoner support services. In turn, ageing prisoners will benefit from improved mental and physical health, reduction in homelessness, and reduced recidivism. Improved knowledge of the needs of ageing prisoners wil ....Ageing in prison: A strategic framework for the management of ageing offenders in the Australian criminal justice system. The knowledge and strategies offered by this research will contribute to significant improvements in planning of programs and facilities for Australian prisons and prisoner support services. In turn, ageing prisoners will benefit from improved mental and physical health, reduction in homelessness, and reduced recidivism. Improved knowledge of the needs of ageing prisoners will allow reduced costs, through better planning, less inefficiencies and a decreased burden on community health and welfare systems. The project will also assist government departments to ensure national and international human rights obligations are met.Read moreRead less
Restorative Justice for Victims and Serious Offenders. This project investigates how to reduce the human costs of serious crime through Restorative Justice (RJ) processes that can help victims recover from the trauma of serious crimes and hold offenders accountable for their actions. The project will (1) provide an independent and rigorous assessment of the RJ program for the industry partner, (2) contribute to an evidence-based national debate on policy responses to serious crimes through ident ....Restorative Justice for Victims and Serious Offenders. This project investigates how to reduce the human costs of serious crime through Restorative Justice (RJ) processes that can help victims recover from the trauma of serious crimes and hold offenders accountable for their actions. The project will (1) provide an independent and rigorous assessment of the RJ program for the industry partner, (2) contribute to an evidence-based national debate on policy responses to serious crimes through identifying the strengths and limitations of RJ and showing how RJ can be optimally practised to maximise benefits for all participants and the wider community, and (3) contribute significantly to the theory and practice of RJ, enhancing Australia's international reputation as a leader in this research area.Read moreRead less
Restorative justice and re-offending. Restorative justice conferences are meetings between young offenders and their victims to discuss crimes and negotiate ways of responding to conflict. Restorative justice advocates claim that because young offenders leave conferences with a better understanding of how their behaviour has affected others, they are less likely to re-offend. This research project will directly test this claim. It will show, for the first time, what young offenders know and u ....Restorative justice and re-offending. Restorative justice conferences are meetings between young offenders and their victims to discuss crimes and negotiate ways of responding to conflict. Restorative justice advocates claim that because young offenders leave conferences with a better understanding of how their behaviour has affected others, they are less likely to re-offend. This research project will directly test this claim. It will show, for the first time, what young offenders know and understand about conference events and how this relates to future offending. This project is the first scholarly analysis of restorative justice conferencing that examines how and why conferencing works to reduce crime.Read moreRead less