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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What do statistics tell us about Victoria's crime wave?
ABC, 07/11/25
Victoria is experiencing a crime wave, with the number of criminal incidents rising to their highest level on record.

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Can the world prevent a genocide in Sudan? By Philipp Kastner
The Conversation, 07/11/25
Rights groups and analysts are now sounding the alarm about a possible genocide taking place. Some say the killings are reminiscent of the start of the Rwanda genocide in 1994, which killed a staggering 800,000 people.

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The costs of serious and organised crime in Australia, 2023–24 by A. Voce & A. Morgan
Statistical Report no. 55. Australian Institute of Criminology, 07/11/25
This report is the fifth iteration in a series of attempts to calculate the costs of serious and organised crime to Australia. The upper estimate for 2023–24 ($82.3b), representing 3.2 percent of Australia’s gross domestic product, is up from $68.7b in 2022–23. This increase in the estimated costs of serious and organised crime is due, in large part, to methodological improvements. Nevertheless, these figures represent the substantial and pervasive economic impact of serious and organised crime on Australia.

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Boys are still in the grip of crippling masculine stereotypes: 6 findings from a new survey By Michael Flood
The Conversation, 06/11/25
Rigid norms of manhood, based in manly confidence and toughness, emotional stoicism, disdain for femininity, and dog-eat-dog banter, are influential among boys and young men in Australia.

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Porn not ‘inherently harmful’, says first inquiry of its kind in Australia By Giselle Woodley & Lelia Green
The Conversation, 06/11/25
The New South Wales parliament recently released a report exploring the impacts of pornography on people’s mental, emotional and physical health. It’s the first state-based inquiry of its kind, and rejects knee-jerk simplifications in favour of nuanced findings.

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Should police reveal a suspect’s racial identity and immigration status in serious crimes? By Tamar Hopkins
The Conversation, 05/11/25
British prosecutors have charged a 32-year-old British national with 10 counts of attempted murder in the mass stabbing attack that occurred on a train travelling from Doncaster to London on Saturday night. The attack has spurred a vigorous debate in the United Kingdom about whether police should reveal the racial identity and immigration status of suspects who have been arrested in high-profile cases.

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Convicted mushroom murderer Erin Patterson outlines her reasons to appeal
ABC, 05/11/25
Triple-murderer Erin Patterson is fighting to have her conviction quashed, claiming there was a "substantial miscarriage of justice" during her trial.

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Which countries could assassinate their dissidents in Australia
ABC, 05/11/25
Iran, Russia, and India have silenced their critics overseas. Could they do the same here?

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Alcohol available for consumption in Australia
AIHW, 04/11/25
The Alcohol available for consumption in Australia report uses data from a range of sources to estimate the total amount of alcohol made available to people living in Australia every financial year. Estimates are also available for the total amount of alcohol in the forms of beer, wine, spirits, and cider.

Prison officers strike over sentence for NSW inmate who bashed guards By Giselle Wakatama
ABC, 30/10/25
Thousands of prison officers are taking industrial action, frustrated by the sentence handed to an inmate who bashed four guards at Cessnock in February. Cameron Welsh was sentenced to a three-year jail term, to be served in the community, over the assaults.

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A 2,000-year history of chucking a sickie By Konstantine Panegyres
The Conversation, 30/10/25
People in ancient times are shown faking all kinds of illnesses for personal advantage, mainly to get out of work, military service, or to conceal an affair.

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Far-right extremists are setting up rural enclaves around the world. We need to counter the threat they pose By James Paterson
The Conversation, 28/10/25
Rural environments are also not simply backdrops for extremist retreats. They provide practical advantages that make them attractive bases of operation. Remote properties offer space for training and tactical preparation that would be impossible in more closely monitored urban areas. Large, sparsely populated properties allow extremists to train in secrecy while blending into the rhythms of rural life.

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Stolen licensed guns are fuelling Australia's surge in illegal firearms By Myles Houlbrook-Walk
ABC, 89/10/25
Theft of legally-owned guns is the number one source of illegal guns in the market.

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Paedophiles exploiting Australia’s broken childcare system as safeguards crumble By Adele Ferguson, Chris Gillett, Jade Toomey & Dylan Welch
ABC, 27/10/25
Paedophiles have infiltrated Australia’s $22 billion childcare industry by exploiting lax regulation, piecemeal oversight and glaring staffing inadequacies, a major Four Corners investigation has uncovered.

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Most Australian government agencies aren’t transparent about how they use AI By José-Miguel Bello y Villarino, Alexandra Sinclair & Kimberlee Weatherall
The Conversation, 27/10/25
A year ago, the Commonwealth government established a policy requiring most federal agencies to publish “AI transparency statements” on their websites by February 2025. We looked at 224 agencies and found only 29 had easily identifiable AI transparency statements. A deeper search found 101 links to statements. That adds up to a compliance rate of around 45%...

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Police say wave of kill crew attacks breaks 'no families' gangland code By Anton Rose
ABC, 24/10/25
The murder of a Bankstown woman who was stripped naked, bound and gagged before she was killed shows Sydney's "guns for hire" are breaking gangland code, a senior NSW detective says.