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Published Version (Advanced Access)CC BY-NC V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Understanding Youth Assaults of Police Officers in Australia: A Power Threat Meaning Framework Analysis
Australian Journal of Social Issues, Vol.Advanced access
2025
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Expert Quote
Study finds violent youth assaults on police often triggered by past trauma
UniSC News (Clare McKay)Abstract
This study explores youth violence towards police officers in Australia through the Power Threat Meaning Framework (PTMF) to better understand the underlying factors contributing to such violence; focusing on power dynamics, childhood adversity, and trauma. It examines power dynamics in past and present circumstances and the function of violent behaviours in these encounters. To do this, a content analysis was conducted using court findings and coroner reports of all Australian cases where a person aged 12–24 was found guilty of assaulting a police officer between 2010 and 2023, yielding 40 cases. Six key themes were examined: Power, Threat, Meaning, Exacerbating Factors, and Threat Responses and Functions of Threat Responses. The findings show that young people who assaulted police had substantial disempowerment across the life course, with disrupted attachments, childhood maltreatment, institutional mistrust, and social disadvantage. In the sample, violence predominantly functioned to reclaim a sense of control and power in situations when the young person was confined, unsafe, or disempowered. It is recommended that the pathway to safer interactions between youth and police requires awareness training and policy responses that understand the underlying factors and power imbalance that contribute to and exacerbate negative relations between police officers and young people.
Details
- Title
- Understanding Youth Assaults of Police Officers in Australia: A Power Threat Meaning Framework Analysis
- Authors
- Dimitra Lattas (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Sexual Violence Research and Prevention UnitKelly Hine - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Law and SocietyCatherine Creamer - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Law and SocietyKelley Burton - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Sexual Violence Research and Prevention UnitKatie Davenport-Klunder - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Law and Society
- Publication details
- Australian Journal of Social Issues, Vol.Advanced access
- Publisher
- John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
- DOI
- 10.1002/ajs4.70032
- ISSN
- 1839-4655; 0157-6321
- Copyright note
- © 2025 The Author(s). Australian Journal of Social Issues published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australian Social Policy Association. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.
- Grant note
- This work was supported by University of the Sunshine Coast.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Law and Society
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991129702902621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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