Special Projects

Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs in Australia – Incidents of Violence

A number of outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMCGs) in Australia have been categorised as a ‘criminal threat’ by law enforcement agencies. This has led to a push by state and territory governments for ‘anti-bikie’ legislation that aims to nominate these groups as ‘criminal organisations’ and permit control orders to be issued on individual OMCG members. One of the primary concerns with this approach is the lack of empirical data regarding the nature of this ‘criminal threat’ and that this may lead to well-founded accusations of moral panic. The aim of this project is to document the number and types of violent incidents involving OMCGs across Australia, from 2005 until 2012, to assist in determining the validity of this ‘criminal threat.’

Project Lead: Dr Ruth Delaforce

The Australian Private Military and Security Industry

The private military and security industry is a significant part of global security governance, particularly since the end of the Cold War. The industry has its major headquarters in the USA, UK and South Africa, managing offshore operations in high risk locales. There is a diverse range of activities, including static security for infrastructure and assets, personnel protection, and involvement in combat support roles for peacekeeping or military operations. The industry highlights the merging of public/private interests, policing and military roles, and international and domestic security concerns. The aim of this project is to conduct a systematic review of the private military and security industry in Australia, of which limited information has been available. The review includes data collection and analysis on the range of Australian-based companies engaged in this sector, their scope of activities, geographical reach, and demographic profile.

Research assistance for both projects is being provided through the Criminology Undergraduate Research Internship Program (CURIP). This program offers the most promising senior undergraduates (2nd and 3rd years) in Griffith University’s School of Criminology and Criminal Justice an opportunity to participate in more ‘hands on’ experience in real world research settings. The internship program enhances the learning experiences of undergraduate students by providing a meaningful link between coursework and applied research work. Broader aims of the program include building professional relationships between staff and students, and strengthening the undergraduate research culture.
 

Project Lead: Dr Ruth Delaforce

Audit of Police Interventions in Diverse Communities 

• Collated data using ANZPAA’s network of Liaison Officers nationally. This data includes strategies that have been implemented in the field during 2008 to 2010. 
• Completed a series of in-depth interviews with police officers in three policing jurisdictions nationally (Australian Federal Police, Queensland Police Service and Victorian Police). 

• an overview of Flemington as a suburb;
• an outline of perceived crime/safety/policing issues (from both the perspective of the community and of local police);
• a review of Victoria Police policy documents and their support for community policing initiatives;
• a map of the network of agencies providing services to the community which respond to various aspects of identified crime and safety issues (highlighting the nature of their roles and relationships with other organisations including the police); and
• interviews with police and representatives of community focussed organisations and agencies designed to investigate the operation of the network - that is, the factors that facilitate and limit its ability to respond to community safety and crime issues (broadly defined).

• Presentation of a paper on The public gets what the public wants: Public trust and confidence in the police at Tasmanian Institute of Law Enforcement Studies, City University London, the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia and the British Academy, University of Tasmania, Hobart 10-11 December 2009.
• The paper presented was subsequently published in a special edition of Policing: A Journal of Policing and Practice.
• Bull, M. (2010). Working with others to build cooperation, confidence and trust. Policing: a Journal of Policing and Practice, Special Issue 4(3), 282-290.