Policy Paper
ACR206 Criminology in Action Task 2 Reports Background The following is a list of official reports suitable for Task 2. If you have another report in mind that you would like to write on, please contact Mark to check that it is appropriate for Task 2. Topic Report Details Corruption in prisons Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission (IBAC), 2017. Corruption risks associated with the corrections sector. “The corrections sector faces corruption and integrity issues not encountered in other areas of the public sector. The provision of contraband, inappropriate relationships, excessive use of force and inappropriate access to information are risks that are created or increased by the specific nature of the correctional environment.” Drug-related corruption in Ambulance Victoria IBAC, 2017. Operation Tone: Special report concerning drug use and associated corrupt conduct involving Ambulance Victoria paramedics. “Many paramedics are exemplars of their profession. However, Operation Tone has identified a culture of illicit drug use and misappropriation of … equipment by individuals and among certain groups, particularly in the Barwon South West region.” A prisoner dies after CS gas is used to force him to leave his cell State Coroner (Vic), 2019. Finding into death with inquest: Hizir Ferman. State Coroner (Vic), Melbourne. “Any forced extraction of a prisoner from a cell or room requires careful planning and coordination … This is especially so if the extraction involves the use of CS gas.” Drink driving by police IBAC (Vic) 2016 Drink driving detections of Victoria Police officers: analysis of trends from 2000-2015 "When Victoria Police officers are themselves detected driving in excess of the legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit, it undermines the message that drink driving is wrong, as well as the community’s confidence in the authority of Victoria Police to uphold the law." Available via APO. Illicit drug use in Victoria Police IBAC (Vic) 2016 Special report concerning illicit drug use by Victoria Police officers From the executive summary "Any illicit drug use by police is a serious problem with significant ramifications not only for the individual officers involved, but also for their colleagues, and the police force as a whole." Available via APO. Interagency cooperation in child abuse cases Herbert, L. and Leah Bromfield, 2018. National comparison of cross-agency practice in investigating and responding to severe child abuse “The response to severe child abuse (namely abuse requiring police investigation) requires many different workers across agencies and disciplinary backgrounds to work together effectively.” Available via APO Excessive use of force by police IBAC (Vic) 2016. Operation Ross: an investigation into police conduct in the Ballarat Police Service Area Allegations of excessive use of force by police in rural Victoria. Available via APO. Casual racism by police New South Wales. Law Enforcement Conduct Commission, 2019. Operation Trieste: report to parliament pursuant to Section 132 Law Enforcement Conduct Commission Act 2016 : October 2019 “Ms Y is 24 years old. She has no criminal history … She is a student. She works to finance her studies and support her family who are part of the Muslim Afghan expatriate community ... When [her stepmother] Mrs R could not produce identification documents, Officer 1 and Officer 2 threatened Mrs R with being handcuffed and taken into immediate custody. Officer 1 threatened Ms Y with arrest for negligent driving. Officer 2 questioned Ms Y concerning her religion and told her to “ swear to Allah”. Available via Trove Shooting deaths in police custody Doherty, L, and Bricknell, S, 2020. Shooting deaths in police custody. AIC, Statistical Bulletin, 19. “Police and self-inflicted shooting deaths account for 30 percent of all deaths occurring in police custody since 1991–92. Gunshot wounds are the second most common cause of death among individuals in police custody, second only to external or multiple trauma” Available via Trove Mental health in policing Victoria Police, 2016. Victoria Police Mental Health Review: An independent review into the mental health and wellbeing of Victoria Police employees A fascinating insight into some of the stresses faced by operational police. Available via APO. Mismanagement of police IT systems Rush, J & State Services Authority (Vic) 2012, Inquiry into the command, management and functions of the senior structure Of Victoria Police, State Services Authority, Melbourne. Curious about why Victoria Police uses such an antiquated IT system? Available from Parliament Victoria. Can Victoria police be trusted to handle sensitive information? IBAC, 2019. Unauthorised access and disclosure of information held by Victoria Police An analysis of corruption risks and prevention opportunities. IBAC, Melbourne. “The Victorian community rightly expects Victoria Police to protect and safeguard law enforcement data and official information it holds, and for employees to only use this information for a legitimate business need. When this data and information is accessed and disclosed without authorisation it compromises the safety of citizens and the community, and may constitute police misconduct or corruption.” Available from IBAC Sexual harassment and discrimination in a police service Equal opportunity Commission (South Australia) 2016. Sex discrimination, sexual harassment and predatory behaviour in South Australia Police: Independent review report “The review found that sex discrimination and sexual harassment of women – and anyone else that doesn’t fit the white macho male stereotype - is commonplace …:” Available via APO. Mental health in the AFP Australian National Audit Office, 2018. Managing mental health in the Australian Federal Police “Managing employee mental health effectively is a challenge faced by policing and first responder organisations around the world. This includes the Australian Federal Police (AFP)” Available via APO Taser use by NSW Police Ombudsman (NSW), 2012. How are Taser weapons used by the NSW Police Force? “Around Australia, there have been well publicised misuses of Taser which have led to significant and justified concern within the community.” Available via APO Police mental health Beyond Blue, 2018. Answering the call: national survey. Beyond Blue’s national mental health and wellbeing study of police and emergency services – final report This report “is the first national survey of the mental health and wellbeing of personnel in the police and emergency services.” Available at APO Police information sharing for criminal intelligence purposes Sarre, R. 2018. Understanding law enforcement information sharing for criminal intelligence purposes This report examines the “legislative, technical and cultural barriers … associated with different types of information sharing.” Available at APO ACR206 CRIMINOLOGY IN ACTION ASSESSMENT TASK 2: POLICY OPTIONS PAPER Length: 2000 words. Value: 50% of final mark Due: 18 September, 2020, 8pm PURPOSE This assessment task is intended to: 1. Allow you to explore the ground reality of work in the criminal justice and related sectors (CJRS), using an official report into a critical incident. 2. Facilitate reflection on real-world challenges which you are likely to face in your desired career, including ethical and moral choices faced by relatively junior staff in CJRS. 3. Apply the model of “organizational learning” to a real-world case study, considering the implications for improving CJRS organisational practice via learning from mistakes and critical incidents. 4. Allow you to demonstrate your understanding of key issues affecting CJRS, and their implications for those entering the sector. BACKGROUND When something goes seriously wrong in criminal justice or other service delivery agencies, there will often be an inquiry conducted by an independent external agency. Examples of such agencies include the Coroner (especially if a death has occurred), the Ombudsman, a police integrity body, or a special inquiry such as a Royal Commission. The reports created by such agencies are an invaluable resource for those who want to better understand the CJRS as it actually operates. Because these reports often examine a particular incident in fine detail, they represent a means by which students can explore the nitty-gritty reality of a career path they aspire to. In many ways, the real test of the culture and character of people and organizations occurs when something goes wrong. Reports into critical incidents allow us to better understand CJRS organizations and the challenges facing those who work in them. You will be examining the particular incident that you choose in two ways. First, you will reflect on and analyse the decisions and actions of at least one of the people whose conduct is being examined. (In some incidents, quite large numbers of people will have been involved. You do not need to assess them all: choose one or perhaps two people, and consider their actions in depth.) Morally and ethically, how do you assess the person’s conduct as a CJRS professional? Second, you should analyse the incident in terms of “organizational moral learning” (Bisel 2017), the idea that organizations can and should seek to improve their culture and performance by learning from cases where things have gone wrong. THE TASK Your task is to research and write a 2000-word research paper in response to an official report on a critical incident in the CJRS. If your report details a specific case of misconduct, your report should contain the following elements: A brief summary of the facts of the case (roughly 200 words). Keep this section as brief as you can –you will need the space to discuss other things. You are entitled to assume that the person marking has read the report you are looking at. So: just the key facts. Part A: (roughly 1000 words). An assessment of the decisions and actions of one or more individual CJRS professionals mentioned in the report. Use official policy and scholarly research on professionalism and misconduct to support your conclusions. Note that some reports will make specific findings into individual’s culpability: these are relevant but you are not obliged to concur. Part B: (roughly 800 words). Implications for organizational moral learning. Apply the idea of “organizational moral learning” (Bisel 2017) to the organization which employs the person you considered in Part A. Drawing on scholarly research, discuss improvements which might be made (perhaps to training, culture or management style) to the organization, in light of the incident and its aftermath? Total length: 2000 words. If your report does not detail a specific case of misconduct, your report should contain the following elements: A brief summary of the facts of the issu (roughly 200 words). Keep this section as brief as you can –you will need the space to discuss other things. You are entitled to assume that the person marking has read the report you are looking at. So: just the key facts. Part A: Background (roughly 1000 words). This section sets the scene. It will probably contain a concise summary of the key elements of the report. What is the issue? What are the report’s most important findings? It might also