Timothy James Prenzler

Understanding and Preventing Corruption

This readily accessible guide addresses key issues in the international problem of public and private sector corruption. Despite the growth in interest of corruption in government and politics, few studies have focused on the practical questions of how to combat corruption. Graycar and Prenzler address these deficits by connecting analyses about the nature and causes of corruption with strategies for effective corruption reduction. Using a variety of international case studies, this text explores the range of harms caused by corruption and the opportunity factors that allow corruption to occur in diverse forms and locations. Presenting an innovative evidence-based framework, Graycar and Prenzler examine the lessons which can be learnt, exploring corruption prevention strategies in the areas of criminal justice, government procurement, public health and town planning. Understanding and Preventing Corruption is distinctive in its application of situational crime prevention and presentation of practical strategies to minimise misconduct, and will be a valuable resource to scholars in Criminology, Law, Politics and Economics as well as practitioners in the field of corruption, and lawyers, policy-makers and politicians more broadly.

Models of police oversight: A critique

This is a theoretical paper that addresses the question: What is the best form of control of police conduct? The paper cites the inadequacy of traditional mechanisms such as accountability to the law and elected officials; and focuses on the current debate, which divides primarily over the division of labour between internal affairs and a specialised external agency. Recourse to external agencies can be divided into two further models. ‘Civilian review’ involves independent auditing of internal investigations and disciplinary decisions. It is argued that police capacity for subversion of civilian review makes this a weak modeL In contrast, the ‘civilian control’ model entails genuinely independent investigation and adjudication. The civilian control model should reduce the risk of subversion when complaints processing is coupled with pre‐emptive forms of monitoring and investigation, including the use of hi‐technology covert surveillance. Although often criticised as weakening police responsibility for maintaining discipline, this model leaves large scope for police involvement in complaint mediation, and in integrity development through human resource management strategies.

The evolution of police oversight in Australia

This paper reviews developments in police oversight in the last decade in Australias eight jurisdictions. Significant variation remains in the structure and responsibilities of oversight agencies, but there has been an ongoing trend towards replacing an ombudsman model with a public sector-wide commission model. There has also been a general convergence in terms of increased powers and an enlarged range of anti-corruption tactics. Change has been driven by ongoing revelations of misconduct or concerns about potential misconduct by police, public servants and politicians. Despite improvements it is argued that there is considerable room for better practice, especially in enlarging the scope of independent investigations and adjudication by integrity commissions.

Stakeholder Perspectives on Police Complaints and Discipline: Towards a Civilian Control Model:

Abstract This paper examines the case for independent investigation and adjudication of complaints against police, and the implications for restructuring of public sector institutions concerned with integrity. The need for external review of police in-house investigations is well established. However, there is now an accelerating trend for civilian agencies to go beyond review to engage directly in investigations and to have much greater input into disciplinary decisions.This paper reports on the experiences and principles behind this trend, focusing on the points of view of specific actors and stakeholders.These include commissions of inquiry, oversight agencies, complainants, police, the public, civil liberties groups, government review bodies and miscellaneous bodies. The perspectives of each of the groups were analysed to develop a distinctive “civilian control model” for maximising stakeholder confidence in police integrity.The model entails police management responsibility for primary misconduct prevention and informal resolution of complaints, with external agencies having control over the investigation and adjudication of complaints.The paper also argues for efficiency gains from integrating police oversight within a larger public sector integrity commission, especially in countries with large numbers of small police departments.

Protective Security in Australia: Scandal, Media Images and Reform

ABSTRACT This paper examines recent events and issues involving security providers that have drawn adverse attention in Australia, primarily through media reporting. The study covers the decade from 1999 to mid‐2008. Eleven key events are examined, including fatalities resulting from security officer actions, illicit activity by motorcycle gangs involved in nightclub security, fraud in contracts for patrol services, and lax security at airports. The paper analyses how these events illustrate risk areas of security work and the limitations of the regulatory systems operating at the time. Recognition of the problems drove a ‘second wave’ of regulatory reform of the industry in the direction of comprehensive licensing, with enhanced training requirements, tougher entry and licence retention tests, and closer scrutiny of security providers – consistent with an emerging best practice model of industry regulation. The authors support the general direction of these innovations while emphasising the need for proactive monitoring of the industry and a nationally consistent system of licensing.

Equal Employment Opportunity and Policewomen in Australia

Limited statistics make for difficulties in producing a clear picture of the impact of equal employment opportunity policies in Australian police services. Available figures indicate that pre-entry physical ability tests are a significant source of attrition of aspiring policewomen. Women also appear to be disproportionately more likely to separate as a result of maternal obligations, and report higher incidents of sexual harassment and sex discrimination in promotion and deployment. Considering the historical marginalisation of women in policing, Australian police services have made large steps forward in reducing discrimination in a relatively short period of time. Improvements can nonetheless be made in making policing a more viable career option for women, and recruiting appears to be the main area where proactive measures are needed.

Tertiary Education, Commitment and Turnover in Police Work

This study investigated the effects of tertiary education on police turnover (separations) and job attitudes. It is sometimes argued that tertiary education will reduce the commitment of police to staying in the job because they will experience frustrated promotional aspirations and they possess greater employment mobility. In a case study of Queensland police officers with between five and nine years of service, human resource data showed no significant differences in turnover rates for degree holders and non‐degree holders. A survey of serving police compared job attitudes, withdrawal cognitions, and intention to leave for degree holders and non‐degree holders. Results revealed few differences of significance between the two groups. In combination, these results suggest that fears that higher education will reduce police commitment to the job are not well founded—at least in large police departments with numerous career development opportunities and a system of promotion based on merit.

Early intervention to reduce complaints: an Australian Victoria Police initiative

’Complaints profiling’, ‘early warning’ or ‘early intervention’ systems are currently seen as vital mechanisms for reducing police misconduct and improving police–community relations. This paper reports on the introduction of an early intervention system for police in the State of Victoria, Australia. The findings support the contention that such systems have a demonstrable utility in reducing complaints. A sample of 44 individuals profiled showed that interventions resulted in a 71.07 per cent reduction in complaints, from an expected 121 down to 35 over a two-year period. Additionally, the study showed that the financial cost-benefit effects were very positive, with reduced complaints resulting in an estimated saving of AU

Strike Force Piccadilly: A public-private partnership to stop ATM ram raids

3.2 million over the two years. A study of a sample of nine locations showed a 58.6 per cent reduction in complaints, from a projected number of 60.6 down to 25 over a one-year period, with an estimated saving of AU

Civil Litigation Against Police in Australia: Exploring Its Extent, Nature and Implications for Accountability

1.4 million. The paper also describes the types of interventions used and a number of issues that arise from complaints profiling.