Library Resources for Criminology & Justice: News and Events

The stories listed on this bulletin are provided for information purposes only. They are included to reflect current events and community opinion relating to issues studied by students at ACAP University College. They do not reflect the views of ACAP University College.

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Italy votes to make femicide a crime after series of killings and violence against women
ABC, 27/11/25

Italian lawmakers have unanimously backed a bill making femicide — the intentional killing of women or girls — a specific crime punishable by life imprisonment.

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Māori face harsher sentences than NZ Europeans for similar drink-driving offences – with lasting consequences By Alexander Plum
The Conversation, 27/11/25
People of Māori descent account for just a fifth of Aotearoa’s population, but are overrepresented at every stage of the criminal justice system. They comprise 37% of people prosecuted by police, 45% of those convicted and 52% of the prison population.

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A backlash against AI imagery in ads may have begun as brands promote ‘human-made’ By Paul Harrison
The Conversation, 26/11/25
Advertising has never really just been about efficiency. It has always relied on a degree of emotional truth and creative mystery. That psychological anchor – a belief that human intention sits behind what we are looking at – turns out to matter more than we like to admit.

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‘Digital colonialism’: how AI companies are following the playbook of empire By Jessica Russ-Smith & Michelle Lazarus
The Conversation, 26/11/25
In the eyes of big AI companies such as OpenAI, the troves of data on the internet are highly valuable. They scrape photos, videos, books, blog posts, albums, painting, photographs and much more to train their products such as ChatGPT – usually without any compensation to or consent from the creators.

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Melbourne's mayor welcomes greater police search powers but some MPs say it's overreach
ABC, 26/11/25
Victoria Police has declared part of Melbourne's CBD a designated area, giving police greater search powers.The move has been criticised by some state and federal MPs. Melbourne Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece welcomed the move, saying Melbourne needed a "circuit-breaker" on crime.

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The human brain goes through five 'non-linear' stages of development, according to new study By Lewis Wiseman
ABC, 26/11/25
A new study shows the human brain goes through five major stages of topological development in its lifetime. The data shows the brain goes through major changes at ages nine, 32, 66 and 83.

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The key academic skill you’ve probably never heard of – and 4 ways to encourage it By Melissa Barnes & Kate Lafferty
The Conversation, 25/11/25
When parents think about their child’s education, they probably focus on basic skills and exam results, the amount a child is trying and their wellbeing. But there is another significant factor influencing their success at school. This is metacognition.

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The extent of illicit drug and alcohol involvement in crime: An updated estimate By A. Voce, T. Sullivan, A. Morgan, & M. McAlister 
Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 723. Australian Institute of Criminology, 25/11/25
We used data from interviews with police detainees (n=2,249) to measure the extent to which their offending was related to illicit drugs or alcohol. We then used these findings to estimate the total number of principal offences attributable to different substances.

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137 women and girls killed every day by intimate partners or family members in 2024  
UNODC, 25/11/25
Marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the 2025 femicide brief from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and UN Women confirms that femicide continues to take the lives of tens of thousands of women and girls worldwide, with no sign of real progress.

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You’ve reported sexual assault to police. What happens next? By Gemma Hamilton 
The Conversation, 25/11/25
While most sexual violence is not reported to police, recent Australian statistics show reports of sexual assault to police are rising.

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Is racism becoming more acceptable in the UK? By Simon Goodman & Rahul Sambaraju
The Conversation, 22/11/25
Accusations of racism are still taboo and treated as unfair labelling. But psychology professor Kevin Durrheim and colleagues have shown how the norm against prejudice is weakening in rightwing populist spaces.

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The key academic skill you’ve probably never heard of – and 4 ways to encourage it By Melissa Barnes & Kate Lafferty

The Conversation, 25/11/25
When parents think about their child’s education, they probably focus on basic skills and exam results, the amount a child is trying and their wellbeing. But there is another significant factor influencing their success at school. This is metacognition.

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The extent of illicit drug and alcohol involvement in crime: An updated estimate By A. Voce, T. Sullivan, A. Morgan, & M. Anthony McAlister
Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 723. Australian Institute of Criminology, 25/11/25
We used data from interviews with police detainees (n=2,249) to measure the extent to which their offending was related to illicit drugs or alcohol. We then used these findings to estimate the total number of principal offences attributable to different substances.

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137 women and girls killed every day by intimate partners or family members in 2024
UNODC, 25/11/25
Marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the 2025 femicide brief from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and UN Women confirms that femicide continues to take the lives of tens of thousands of women and girls worldwide, with no sign of real progress.

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You’ve reported sexual assault to police. What happens next? By Gemma Hamilton
The Conversation, 25/11/25
While most sexual violence is not reported to police, recent Australian statistics show reports of sexual assault to police are rising.

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Is racism becoming more acceptable in the UK? By Simon Goodman & Rahul Sambaraju
The Conversation, 22/11/25
Accusations of racism are still taboo and treated as unfair labelling. But psychology professor Kevin Durrheim and colleagues have shown how the norm against prejudice is weakening in rightwing populist spaces.

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Myanmar inaugurates coffee processing plant, supporting farmers to transition from illicit crop cultivation
UNODC, 20/05/25
After ten years of continuous work, the Green Gold Cooperative (GGC) has reached a historic milestone: the completion of its central coffee processing plant — a transformative step for communities in southern Shan State that once depended on opium poppy cultivation.

Giving men a common antidepressant could help tackle domestic violence: world-first study By Tony Butler, Emaediong I. Akpanekpo, Lee Knight, Peter William Schofielf, Rhys Mantell
The Conversation, 02/12/25
In April 2024, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared domestic and family violence a “national crisis” calling for proactive responses that “focus on the perpetrators and focus on prevention”. a world-first trial from the University of New South Wales and University of Newcastle, which tested whether medicine can reduce violence and domestic violence, may offer a new way forward.

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Statistically, it's impossible to predict domestic violence homicide. That doesn't mean we should give up By Hayley Gleeson
ABC, 02/12/25
Victims must always be believed. The uncomfortable truth, however, is that statistically, it is almost impossible to predict lethal family violence because it is so rare.

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What charges does Benjamin Netanyahu face, and what’s at stake if he is granted a pardon? By Michelle Burgis-Kasthala
The Conversation, 02/12/25
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has requested a pardon in his long-running corruption trial – a move that has set off alarm bells among his critics that he’s trying to circumvent the rule of law.

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The relationship between pornography use and sexual violence in Australian men By C. Dowling, & L. Doherty
Research Report no. 35. Australian Institute of Criminology, 02/12/25
The production and availability of pornography has increased dramatically over the past few decades. Concerns have been raised regarding pornography’s influence on sexual violence, particularly among men, who constitute the majority of its audience. While a vast body of research has examined the association between pornography use and sexual violence, questions remain regarding the strength of this association, including among Australian men, and its underlying mechanisms.

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Is Australia in a youth crime crisis? Here’s what the numbers say By Alex Simpson
The Conversation, 01/12/25
Youth crime is never far from the public consciousness, but Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan’s announcement of “adult time for violent crime” has brought the issue back into sharp focus.

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Mental Health
AIHW, 12/25
1 in 5 adults and 1 in 7 young people experiences a mental health disorder in the previous 12 months.