Tim Prenzler

University of the Sunshine Coast | USC · Law & Criminology

Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) are an initiative adopted by some local governments, businesses, and residents to address concerns around crime and disorder in commercial areas, especially open street town centres. BIDs have become popular in the USA since the 1970s; however, no comprehensive review of evaluations has occurred to date. This p...

Police patrols are often put forward as an essential form of guardianship in public places. The ideal contemporary model that is often advocated involves officers on foot, in locations where crime and disorder are concentrated, linked to a CCTV system. This chapter reviews the evidence in this area, emphasising the importance of community consultat...

This chapter outlines a best practice framework for reducing or eliminating public crime and disorder problems. Situational crime prevention and CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) provide core concepts, including defensible space, territoriality, guardianship and assisting compliance. The idea of an enforcement pyramid also aids...

Business Improvement Districts (BIDs)—which include upgraded amenities and security—have been associated with reductions in crime and enhancements to business and shopping environments. Increasing attention is now being given to the welfare aspects of these types of programs, and this chapter elaborates on this trend, emphasising the need to integr...

This chapter analyses an issue of major importance to all users of public spaces. Toilets with public access are commonly characterised by experiences that are unpleasant and insecure. The standard of facilities represents an excellent test of the quality of democratic governance, and this often-neglected area of place management requires a revolut...

Large gatherings are characteristic of free societies, but these events also create opportunities for criminal conduct and have the potential to make people feel unsafe. Effective safety strategies for events are likely to include careful planning and organisation, comprehensive risk assessments, entry screening, deterrence and de-escalation by sec...

This final shorter chapter focuses on the design and implementation side of crime prevention programs. A major theme of the book is that a wide variety of strategies can be deployed to make large reductions in crime and disorder, and to improve people’s feelings of security and their peaceful use of public spaces. A key issue, however, is how to se...

Transport systems, including transport hubs, attract a wide range of predatory behaviours. Train and bus systems are prone to customer insecurity and dissatisfaction. This chapter examines best practice strategies that integrate safety with convenience, timeliness and cleanliness within a continuous improvement framework. In this topic area, it app...

This introductory chapter maps out the main types of crime-related problems occurring in public places, covering a wide spectrum from bag snatching to harassment to drug dealing to mass shootings. Physical disorder is also given attention. Background factors include inequality, social disorganisation and government and management neglect. An opport...

Entertainment areas are major attractors and facilitators of crime, especially where alcohol is involved. However, evaluated intervention programs have yielded numerous best practice principles to prevent alcohol-related crime and minimise harm. Likely beneficial strategies include responsible service procedures, venue opening hour limits, coordina...

This chapter reviews studies on public-private crime prevention partnerships in public spaces. The focus of the chapter is on successful case studies, while also addressing ethical issues and practical obstacles. The first section provides brief accounts of the development of policies regarding partnerships in security, including a variety of examp...

This chapter explores the growing trends in cybercrime and the role that public and private partnerships can and do play in addressing the scourge of criminal activity in cyberspace. The amount of digital information stored and available to the world expands exponentially. Global technological innovations are ubiquitous and growing. The nature and...

Purpose This paper aims to report on the results of a global search to identify the characteristics of successful sexual offender treatment programs, with a view to providing guidance for program development. Design/methodology/approach A keyword search was conducted of criminology and social science databases. Successful programs were selected on...

This article provides a summary history and critique of the Queensland experience of restorative justice for adult offenders, with a focus on policy development and program implementation. It aims to identify key lessons to improve policy and implementation that may be transferrable to similar jurisdictions. Public source material was analysed to i...

This chapter provides details on police experiences with systems as reported in a variety of practice surveys and associated studies, such as site visits and interviews with key informants within police departments. The focus is on whether or not police departments have systems and, for those that do, how they operate and any problems, issues and m...

This chapter reviews an evaluation of an EI system by Worden et al. (2013). The evaluation is the only available one that used a matched control group to assess the impact of an EI system. In terms of the theory of early intervention, the results were extremely disappointing. No significant differences were apparent on a range of indicators post-in...

This chapter combines a series of studies that can conveniently be referred to as “Literature Reviews and Guides”. Some are more focused on systematically describing the literature, others are more concerned with advocating best practice in setting up and operating EI systems. All of them involve degrees of overlap, so that repeat points are summar...

A distinctive feature of the EI program in the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD) was the use of multiple indicators: 10 in all. This appears to be the first system and associated evaluation with so many conduct measures. Despite this, the evaluation recommended inclusion of a larger set of measures in order to capture as many misconduct risks...

The Portland Police Bureau introduced an early intervention system in 2004, evaluated in part by Prenzler, Cawthray, Porter and Alpert et al. (2016). The initiative was part of a set of upgraded accountability and integrity management measures introduced over a 12-year period and analysed in relation to complaints and use-of-force trend data. Simil...

This chapter covers the basics of EI system development and practice, and some basic and emergent issues. It begins with a definition and summary description of systems, and an account of their early history as a highly innovative response to the problems of misconduct plaguing American policing. The chapter then reviews more detailed studies of th...

The New Zealand Police early intervention system was introduced in response to a conduct crisis and as a direct consequence of recommendations made by a major commission of inquiry. The main component of the evaluation compared complaints against officers 12 months before and 12 months after experiencing the EI program. A 72.5% reduction in complai...

This is the first of eight chapters that look closely at case studies that include pre- and post-intervention data associated with the introduction of EI systems. The present chapter starts with the first publicly available evaluation, from the Oakland Police Department. Subsequent studies cover Metro-Dade, Miami-Dade, Minneapolis, New Orleans and...

The previous chapter examined the findings of literature reviews and reported the main recommendations of guides that tended towards optimistic views of the benefits of EI systems. The present chapter reviews studies that take a more critical view across a range of criteria. The majority, however, focus on the identification component of an EI syst...

The literature on EI systems set out in this book identified a variety of surveys, guides and critiques, and empirical case studies across 12 police departments involving the introduction of new systems with before- and after-intervention data. The findings are largely supportive of the potential benefits of systems to reduce adverse indicators of...

The Victoria Police were the first department to introduce an EI system in Australia. The project was part of a major restructure of integrity management at a time when the department had an adverse reputation associated with a variety of recurring corruption and abuse scandals (Prenzler, 2014b). Although the new system was limited to citizen compl...

Russell (2014) conducted an evaluation of an EI system in an unnamed police department in a southern state of the United States. Russell was an officer in the department and undertook the evaluation for a dissertation as part of Doctor of Education degree. The case study is distinctive for its attention to process issues, including stakeholder inpu...

The Tasmanian early intervention system was introduced as part of a broad set of reforms, introduced over a decade. A case study by Porter et al. (2012) involved a retrospective exploration of long-term reductions in complaints and associated integrity management innovations. Information on the EI program was unfortunately limited, and as a result...

Extending the ‘what works’ tradition in correctional research, realist evaluation approaches champion the need to understand the nuances of program implementation and effectiveness, asking “what works, for whom, in what circumstances, in what respects, and how?”. This highlights the importance of understanding how programs work in ‘real world’ sett...

Using administrative data obtained from Queensland Corrective Services, we investigated the composition and sequencing of sex offender treatment and reintegration programs on recidivism outcomes. Outcomes were compared over an average of 4.8 years (SD = 29.20 months; range = 15 days to 9.25 years) on 2,407 adult males convicted of sexual offences a...

Mass shootings and other gun-related crimes represent a major threat to peace, security and well-being around the world. This chapter uses a comparative case study analysis of firearms regulations and associated long-term trend data in Australia and the United States to demonstrate the potential for governments to make large reductions in gun-enabl...

This paper provides a summary history and critique of the development and implementation of restorative justice in the Queensland youth justice system through an analysis of official data and documentary sources. The paper focuses on policy changes, including government responses to program reviews, issues regarding the availability of conferencing...

This article presents a synthesis of current and innovative law enforcement strategies to combat child sexual abuse material. Six law enforcement strategies were identified through an international literature search and verified by experts via roundtable discussion. Six strategies were identified: public intelligence gathering, polygraph, proactive...

The growth in size, role and authority of private security has triggered a variety of regulatory reactions. These have stimulated a growing academic debate on preferred regulatory models. This paper summarizes the key existing models of regulation. It then provides a critique of the observations of Loader and White (Regul Gov 11(2):166–184, 2017) o...

The investigation of complaints against the police is important to law, order and justice. The public expects high ethical standards from its police service and when breaches occur, complaints often follow. How the police respond to complaints can influence the trust and confidence that underpins the civilian-police relationship. This paper examine...

This paper reviews developments in gender equity-oriented recruitment policies in Australian policing between 2015 and 2019. Findings cover the six state, one federal and one territory police organisations. The study was prompted by media reports on affirmative action initiatives, especially the introduction of recruitment targets. The primary aim...

This paper reviews developments in gender equity-oriented recruitment policies in Australian policing between 2015 and 2019. Findings cover the six state, one federal and one territory police departments. The study was prompted by media reports on affirmative action initiatives, especially the introduction of recruitment targets. The primary aim wa...

This paper examines the implementation process and impacts of an Early Intervention System (EIS) introduced into the New Zealand Police in 2013. The system was associated with large reductions in complaints of 72.5% against target employees ( N = 526), but without this clearly translating into reductions in the overall number of complaints. The New...

Purpose This paper aims to identify key learnings around the concept of “grey corruption” by systematically reviewing the extant literature. The concept is addressed in terms of areas of alleged misconduct often considered “minor” or “borderline” in relation to “black corruption”. Common examples include favourable treatment of friends and relative...

The growth in size, role and authority of private security has triggered a variety of regulatory reactions. These have stimulated a growing academic debate on preferred regulatory models. This paper summarizes the key existing models of regulation. It then provides a critique of the observations of Loader and White (Brit J Criminol 58(6):1401–1419,...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the contours of the police code of silence, a critical component of the ability to control misconduct and enhance integrity within any police agency. Unlike the extant research, dominated by single-country studies, this paper provides an in-depth exploration of the code across five countries and tests...

A growing body of literature suggests that police agencies should aim to increase the number of female officers to positively influence police culture and reduce the occurrence of behavior-related problems. However, not all studies conclude that female officers are more ethical or less likely to attract public complaints than male officers. This ch...

This present study falls under QCS Strategic Research Priority 4 (Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Prisoners and Offenders) and aims to identify the most successful pathways from rehabilitation to reintegration for males convicted of sexual offences in Queensland. An underlying principle of case-management strategies for offenders is ‘throughc...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report on a search of criminology and related databases to identify fraud prevention intervention projects that showed promising achievements in reducing offences. Design/methodology/approach A keyword search of Criminal Justice Abstracts was supplemented by searches of related databases and case study repos...

This paper reviews three decades of data associated with a large-scale open street CCTV program introduced in the City of Ipswich, in the state of Queensland, Australia, in 1994. In 2018, there were over 300 cameras in operation with live monitoring and relays to police and security officers on the beat. Over the years a number of dramatic claims h...

Corruption – “grand” or “gray” – is an international problem, and government is a high-risk domain. Research in the field has tended to focus on the more serious and damaging area of grand corruption, including clearly illegal acts such as bribery and embezzlement. However, there is also a growing body of research concerned with more minor and ambi...

This study assessed the role of alternative dispute resolution options in the complaints management systems of the eight policing jurisdictions in Australia and the single jurisdiction of New Zealand. The available literature shows that a large proportion of complainants would like to participate in mediation, and that both complainants and police...

This chapter examines the role of private security personnel in the contemporary provision of security and protection services in Australia. Drawing on previous extensive work by the authors, the analysis explores several partnerships between the public police and private security personnel, identifying factors upon which good cooperative public/pr...

This chapter explores key dimensions and trends in official indicators of fraud in Australia and New Zealand, including recorded allegations, surveys, and convictions. Contrary to trends in a number of major crime categories, fraud appears to be increasing, driven in part by opportunities in cyberspace. The chapter also includes case studies of maj...

Across fifteen years to 2015–2016 the rate of public complaints against police in the Australian Capital Territory fell by an extraordinary 79%. This was a much larger and longer-term reduction in complaints than occurred anywhere else in Australia, and it is very unusual in the international policing literature. The paper attempts to examine the n...

This article critiques recent developments in training in the Australian security industry. Regulation of the industry is state- and territory-based, with eight jurisdictions enacting purpose-built legislation. Training was a key area of reform in the 1990s and early 2000s, but standards remained fragmented until 2008 when the Committee of Australi...

This article evaluates the factors behind changes in welfare fraud referrals and convictions in Australia from 2009–2010 to 2012–2013. Official numbers of cases referred to the public prosecutor and those proven fell by approximately 75 per cent across the 3-year period. As a rate per customer, referrals fell 82 per cent. The evidence indicates tha...

This paper assesses the effectiveness of security-based programs to reduce repeat domestic violence. A systematic search was conducted of the scientific literature, as well as an electronic newspaper database and the Internet, for published reports of domestic violence prevention programs involving security applications. The study was unable to ide...

Purpose From 2002 to 2014, the Portland Police Bureau reported large reductions in complaints against officers and use of force indicators. The purpose of this paper is to develop a case study to document these changes and explore possible influences. Design/methodology/approach The paper maps the changes in conduct indicators against the develo...

In this paper we endeavour to isolate the top ten innovations and developments that have occurred in policing in the last thirty years. We consider that each of them brought about a new mindset, pattern or trend into contemporary police practice. We have focused our attention on the last thirty years because it is during this time that we have both...

Research shows that increasing the number of female officers is beneficial to policing. However, women remain a minority in police departments throughout the world, and the better performing departments have, on the whole, achieved female representation at only 25%, with senior women at 10%. There is also very little research on effective strategie...

This article provides an additional 2 years of data to the study by Prenzler (2014b) on reductions in welfare fraud in Australia. The original study covered 14 years, with the number of cases falling by approximately 75 per cent in the final 3 years. Data for 2013–2014 to 2014–2015 show that these large reductions were sustained with a continuing s...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore Australian police officers’ perceptions of unethical conduct scenarios with the aim of understanding unwillingness to report infractions. Design/methodology/approach – The responses of 845 officers were compared across 11 scenarios to explore variation in the extent to which they understood the beh...

Issues of force and excessive force remain prominent in policing in most jurisdictions. This study addresses the relationship between officer gender and force-related allegations, and adds to the growing literature on women in policing and strategies to reduce police-citizen conflict. The study utilised six years of Queensland police data from 2007...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare the incidence and main characteristics of mass shooting events in Australia and the USA in the period 1981-2013. Design/methodology/approach – The study adopted a conservative definition of mass shootings derived from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, covering four or more fatalities not incl...

This policy paper addresses issues around crime impacts and crime prevention from a harm perspective. The development of the paper was prompted by the 2014/2015 escalation of counter-terror measures in Australia. The paper begins with a brief review of crime measurement issues and of a harm perspective in guiding crime prevention policies. It then...

This chapter reports the results of an Australian survey of police using the international ethical climate questionnaires developed by Klockars et al. Two major police departments distributed the questionnaires to their officers on condition of anonymity. The findings from the survey-conducted in 2013-were largely positive. On the whole, respondent...

In 1997, in the United States, two police union leaders and a political consultant published a book titled Police Association Power, Politics, and Confrontation: A Guide for the Successful Police Labor Leader. ere was little in the book on civilian oversight of police, except for the inclusion of a case study of union action in challenging moves to...

There is no longer any doubt that good in-house security is of great value to every corporation in Australian business life. The growing importance of security preparedness has been influenced by at least four factors. The first is that there continues to be a worldwide trend away from reliance on public police in the face of threat. Instead, corpo...

This chapter examines the nature of security industry regulation and proposes a best practice model aimed at striking a balance across the interests of stakeholder groups: the general public, security clients, security companies and employees. The chapter begins by briefly outlining the nature and purposes of regulation generally, along with some p...