Sending children to court for relatively minor offences could actually do more harm than good.
A new study from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOSCAR), found rates of re-offending were lower amongst a group of young offenders given a caution than among a matched group referred to court.
The study examined 19,759 juvenile offenders in NSW aged 17 and under who were cautioned or referred to court in 2011, 2012 or 2013. Of these 19,143 were cautioned and 616 were referred to court.
Those who were referred to court were eligible to receive a caution. Offenders were also matched on a wide range of factors including offence, prior contact with the court system, age, Indigenous status and number of concurrent offences.
The researchers found 40.8% were more likely to reoffend within the caution group while 45.9 % reoffended with the court group.
BOSCAR Director Dr Don Weatherburn will present the study at
Category: Griffith University Feed
Spotlight on crime research
International and national researchers and policy-makers will gather in Brisbane for the fifth Applied Research in Crime and Justice Conference this week (February 15 & 16).
Hosted by the Griffith Criminology Institute and the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, the conference will showcase Australian and international research in the areas of policing, offender rehabilitation, situational crime prevention, corrections, early-intervention and criminal justice administration.
Griffith Criminology Institute Director Professor Janet Ransley said the conference will showcase the importance of basing criminal justice policy on research evidence about what works best in crime prevention.
“Leading research from around the world will be applied to real-life problems like reducing Ice supply, preventing crime hotspots, and protecting at-risk children. Researchers and practitioners including senior police, corrections and youth justice staff will work on joint solutions.”
Keynote Speakers
Professor John Eck (University of Cincinnati) The Challenges of Crime Places for Prevention and Theory
Professor Susan McVie OBE
All the world’s a stage for new acting students
This week marks the launch of Griffith University’s new Bachelor of Acting, and the first intake of students can’t wait to get started.
Peter Irankunda said he was “head over heels” about being accepted into the course.
“To think that I get to spend the next three years studying acting gets me excited,” he said.
“I love telling stories and the whole idea of disappearing into a different role and a different world.”
The aspiring actor has a remarkable story of his own.
After his parents fled war-torn Rwanda and Burundi, Peter was born in a refugee camp in Tanzania, and spent several years in Malawi before making it to Australia at the age of nine.
“Because of the civil war, we were always on the move when I was a kid,” he said.
“There was Mum and Dad and seven of us kids and we eventually made it to Australia as refugees.
“It was tough at first. I only
Griffith lecturer drives research collaboration with India’s Rajalakshmi School of Business
Griffith Senior Lecturer Dr Tapan Sarker is driving an ongoing research collaboration with Rajalakshmi School of Business, in Chennai, India, demonstrating the university’s commitment to creating meaningful social outcomes in the Asia-Pacific region.
The collaboration follows Dr Sarker’s 2015 appointment as a Visiting Research Scholar at the Indian school, part of the esteemed Rajalakshmi Institutions group, founded in 1997.
Dr Tapan Sarker
“As a Visiting Research Scholar, I am working on building capacity to conduct joint research between GBS and RSB, and expanding the research to the industry and not-for-profit sector in India,” Dr Sarker, a member of the Department of International Business and Asian Studies and the Griffith Asia Institute, said.
“During this period, I have conducted an Executive Professional Development Program on ‘Best Practices in Sustainable Business Management: A Case in the Auto Industry’, and a Faculty Development Program on ‘Talking Research’ for both industry fellows and academia.
“As part of industry interaction, I have also
Finance students to reap rewards of enhanced scholarship opportunities
Griffith University’s relationship with the globally recognised Chartered Financial Analyst Institute (CFA) continues to strengthen, with finance students set to benefit from a range of enhanced scholarship opportunities in 2018-19.
Through the University’s newly established participation in the CFA Institute University Affiliation Program, undergraduate and postgraduate Finance students will see the number of available scholarships to sit CFA exams rise to 16, up from five in previous years.
This is in addition to a range of other benefits to the program for both students and staff, including access to CFA resources for academics, including the CFA curriculum, Financial Analyst journal, and professional and academic articles on contemporary issues.
There will also be continued opportunities to host joint networking events and seminars, involvement in the CFA Institute Research Challenge, in which Griffith’s team has an outstanding track record, including two victories in the national competition in Sydney and a top-three finish in Asia-Pacific in
Griffith University first in Australia to offer pathway to Chartered Manager
Griffith University has become the first university in Australia and New Zealand to accredit an undergraduate or postgraduate course with the Institute of Managers and Leaders (IML).
This innovative accreditation gives Griffith Business School MBA students fast-tracked access to the internationally recognised Chartered Manager (CMgr) designation.
Students enrolled from January 2018 are set to graduate with an additional globally recognised diploma in strategic management and leadership, which will allow them to apply for and receive the CMgr designation within weeks of receiving their MBA.
In partnering with the Institute of Managers and Leaders in Australia, Griffith University joins more than 100 universities around the world in recognising the value of linking their management and leadership graduate and postgraduate qualifications with the local peak body for managers and leaders.
As an ‘IML Pathway Partner’, Griffith University will enhance its long-standing commitment to equipping MBA students with the essential professional skills to compliment the more
Winter Games beckon for Sports College students
Griffith Sports College will be represented by two athletes in this month’s Winter Olympics in PyeongChang in South Korea.
Mogul skier Britt Cox (Bachelor of Communications) is competing at her third Games after making her debut as a 15-year-old in 2010 while Freestyle Aerial skier Danielle Scott is at her second Olympics with both considered legitimate medal chances.
Griffith Communications student and Mogul skier Britt Cox
“Qualifying for my second Olympics has been pretty incredible,” Danielle said.
“After having been to one it’s not guaranteed you will definitely go again so you shave to keep your head in the game.
“It’s just as exciting and I hope a little less nerve-racking now that I have been to one.”
At just seven years of age, Danielle was the youngest ever athlete to be at the Australian Institute of Sport while training as a gymnast. Two decades on, she heads to South Korea after an outstanding 2017 Freestyle skiing
Romance scams – anyone can fall victim
Trust your gut instinct when it comes to falling in love online.
That’s the message from Griffith University criminologist Dr Jacqueline Drew who’s leading a campaign to warn people about the dangers of romance scams.
With the explosion of dating websites in the past decade, the cringe factor of finding love on the internet has long since passed and it’s become commonplace to meet partners online.
But with this new way of dating also comes the danger of being scammed and, according to Dr Drew (pictured below), a senior lecturer with the Griffith Criminology Institute who conducts research in collaboration with the Queensland Police Service, anyone can be tricked.
“We’re all vulnerable,’’ she warns. “None of us should feel safe from being tricked with a scam or a fraud.”
“We have highly educated people who fall victim to romance scams.
“Many of our romance victims who have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars say they had
Psychologist sets example for young women
Griffith University social psychologist Dr Megan Oaten is about to embark on an Antarctic adventure of a lifetime, one she hopes will inspire other women to become leaders in science research.
Dr Megan Oaten at the Natural History Museum, UK.
Selected to take part in Homeward Bound, an all-female research expedition to Antarctica, Dr Oaten will join 79 women on the 12-month leadership program.
Dr Oaten is passionate about helping young women and showing them that anything is possible.
A high school dropout from NSW, Dr Oaten started her working life as a hairdresser. At the age of 27, she decided to head to Macquarie University to study Psychology and had no idea if she would succeed.
“It was a very nerve-racking thing to do,’’ she recalls. But she persevered and graduated with a PhD in Social Psychology
Now she works in the School of Applied Psychology at Griffith’s Gold Coast campus where she conducts research on
New books to elevate science and reading for beginners
Helping parents improve their children’s reading in a fun way, while engaging them with the world of science, is the impetus behind Griffith’s launch of a new educational book series.
Launched in early February the Suzie the Scientist home-reader series is a new take on home-readers linking reading development directly to the Australian Curriculum: Science.
The series has been supported by a partnership with the Southport Rotary club on the Gold Coast which has provided $5000 to purchase a full set of books for every primary school on the Gold Coast.
“The 24-book series features an engaging “cool” scientist (Suzie) who presents interesting scientific facts to engage kids and empower parents to explore and discuss scientific concepts while developing and improving reading literacies and fluency,” Professor Richard John from Griffith Sciences said.
The books are aimed at children in years Prep to Year 2 and are aligned to the three strands and four sub-strands of the Australian