Conference presentation
An Interdisciplinary Approach to Understanding Assaults on Police: Enriching Criminal Laws and Sentencing Policy
Australasian Law Academics Association Conference, 2024 (Adelaide, Australia, 03-Jul-2024–05-Jul-2024)
Australasian Law Academics Association (ALAA)
2024
Abstract
There is a dearth of literature on the assaults on Australian police officers in the execution of duty. This conference paper reviews an interdisciplinary collaboration between academics in law, criminology, psychology, counselling and social work to produce an in-depth understanding of how and why assaults occur on Australian police officers in the execution of duty. Each discipline brought its own perspective, methodology and insights to capture the complexities of the issue more comprehensively than a single field could alone. The law discipline enabled the skills to search cases in Westlaw, and interpret court cases and legislation, as well as an understanding of the classification of crime, seriousness of harms, culpability, sentencing purposes, sentencing options and appeals. Further, an appreciation of the difference between criminal and civil cases was important to the inclusion and exclusion rules. The other disciplines brought a more nuanced understanding of the offender such as their demeanour at the time of the incident, substance use, mental wellbeing, triggers and loss aversion theory. The project team developed and applied a detailed codebook to Australian cases where police officers were assaulted in 2010 until 2023, resulting in a large dataset. The interdisciplinary analysis of the large dataset is intended to enrich criminal laws and sentencing policy.
Details
- Title
- An Interdisciplinary Approach to Understanding Assaults on Police: Enriching Criminal Laws and Sentencing Policy
- Authors
- Kelley Burton - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Law and SocietyKelly Hine - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Law and SocietyCatherine Creamer - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Law and SocietyDimitra Lattas - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Law and SocietyKatie Davenport-Klunder - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Law and Society
- Conference details
- Australasian Law Academics Association Conference, 2024 (Adelaide, Australia, 03-Jul-2024–05-Jul-2024)
- Publisher
- Australasian Law Academics Association (ALAA)
- Date published
- 2024
- Organisation Unit
- Student Services and Engagement; School of Law and Society; Sexual Violence Research and Prevention Unit
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991047797602621
- Output Type
- Conference presentation
Metrics
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