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AIM To measure if the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Amendment (Sentencing Options) Act 2017 (NSW) reduced re-offending and new custodial episodes. METHOD Local Court data were extracted from BOCSAR's Re-offending Database (ROD) for all matters finalised in the 13 weeks before and the 13 weeks after the commencement of the sentencing reforms (i.e. matters between 25 June to 23 December 2018). Logistic and Cox regressions were used to compare custody and re-offending outcomes for offenders with finalised matters before and after the reforms, adjusting for other factors. Re-offending was measured up until 29 February 2020. A supplementary analysis using an Instrumental Variables (IV) approach was also undertaken to examine the impact of the sentencing changes on those most likely to have received a supervised order because of the reforms. RESULTS There was no significant difference between the post- and pre-reform groups in: a) the time to the first re-offence of any type (HR = 0.98, p = .296); b) the time to the first new serious violent, property, or illicit drug offence (HR = 1.00, p = .862); and c) a new custodial episode within 12 months (13.6% vs. 14.3%, p = .763). There were no significant reductions in re-offending among DV-related offenders and offenders sentenced to short-term prison or a custodial alternative following the reforms. These results were largely confirmed by the IV analysis. CONCLUSION The sentencing reforms have not reduced short-term re-offending rates. However, there has been no adverse impact on rates of offenders returning to custody, suggesting that the reforms have not resulted in more breaches of supervised community orders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To examine the association between risky alcohol use and police proceedings for assault. Method: Alcohol-related emergency department (ED) data were obtained from NSW Health for males and females aged 13- 17, 18-24 and 25-64 years. Data on persons of interest (POIs) proceeded against for assault or use/possess amphetamines were obtained from NSW police for the same age/gender groups. Time series analyses were conducted using monthly data from 2004 through 2016. Within each age/gender group, regression modelling predicted the number of persons proceeded against for assault using alcohol-related ED presentations at various lags as a predictor. Persons proceeded against for use/possess amphetamines was used as a covariate as this could be a competing explanation for changes in the incidence of assault POIs. Results: The relationship between alcohol-related ED presentations and the number of persons proceeded against by the police for assault varied by age group and gender. Among 13-17 year old males each 10 additional alcohol-related ED presentations was associated with: 4.1 additional persons proceeded against for assault during the same month and 4.5 additional persons two months later. Among 18-24 year old males, each 10 additional alcohol-related ED presentations was associated with 5.9 additional assault POIs during the same month and 8.2 additional assault POIs one month later. Among 25-64 year old males the same sized increase in alcohol-related ED presentations was associated with 5.4 additional assault POIs during the same month. Alcohol-related ED data predicted the decline since 2009 in 13-17 year old male persons who were proceeded against for assault. It also predicted the increase which occurred among 25-64 year old males proceeded against for assault from 2004-2009 and from 2012-2016. The relationship between alcohol-related ED presentations and persons proceeded against for assault was much smaller for females compared with males. While no relationship was found for females aged 13-17 years, significant effects were found for the two older age groups. Among females aged 18-24 years an increase in the number of alcohol-related ED presentations by 10 was associated with persons proceeded against for assault increasing by 1.5 during the same month. For females aged 25-64 years, an increase in the number of alcohol-related ED presentations by 10 was associated with 2.4 more assault POIs during the same month and 1.8 more during the next month. The increase in alcohol-related ED presentations for females aged 25-64 predicted the increase in persons proceeded against for assault which occurred for this group from 2004-2009 and from 2013-2016. Conclusion: Violence arising from risky alcohol use imposes a substantial burden on police and the court system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To determine whether the Bail Assessment Officer (BAO) intervention which was piloted in Central and Parramatta local courts in late 2016 had an impact on the proportion of defendants being granted bail at first court appearance and/or reducing time spent in custody. Method: The impact of the BAO intervention on bail refusal and time spent in custody was assessed using a two-by-two design; with group (BAO intervention vs. control) and time (pre-intervention period vs. post-intervention period) as the two factors. The treatment group consisted of custody-based defendants from two local courts (Central and Parramatta) where the BAO intervention was operating. The control group consisted of defendants appearing at three local courts (Burwood, Campbelltown and Fairfield) where the BAO intervention was not operating. The pre-intervention period was September-December 2015 and the post-intervention period was September-December 2016. Outcomes compared in the analysis were percentage of defendants granted bail at first court appearance, mean bail refused days and mean time on remand. Results: There was no significant change from pre-intervention to post-intervention in the percentage of defendants granted bail at first court appearance or the mean number of bail refused days or days on remand for defendants appearing in the BAO intervention courts. Similar results were also evident for defendants appearing in the control group courts and held even after controlling for a wide range of covariates. Conclusion: There is no evidence from this aggregate-level analysis that the BAO intervention had an impact on the granting of bail at first appearance, bail refused days or time on remand. However, a rigorous assessment of program effectiveness was precluded because of the lack of clear, objective eligibility criteria for program entry and limited recording of essential program data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To assess the longer-term effects of the 2014 NSW liquor law reforms on levels of violence in the inner Sydney area. Method: Interrupted time series models were used to examine the effects of the legislative reforms introduced in January 2014. Police recorded non-domestic assaults were analysed over the period January 2009 and September 2016. Separate analyses were carried out for the Kings Cross Precinct (KXP); the Sydney CBD Entertainment Precinct (CBD); an area contiguous with KXP and CBD called the proximal displacement area (PDA); a group of entertainment areas not far from KXP and CBD called the distal displacement area (DDA) and the rest of NSW. Results: Following the reforms statistically significant reductions in non-domestic assault incidents occurred in both the Kings Cross (down 49%) and CBD Entertainment Precincts (down 13%). There was evidence of geographical displacement to surrounding areas with increases in non-domestic assault observed in both the PDA (up 12%) and the DDA (up 17%). The reduction in the combined Kings Cross and CBD Precincts (930 fewer non-domestic assaults) was much greater than the increase in the combined proximal and displacement areas (299 more non-domestic assaults). Conclusion: Restrictions on the availability of alcohol appear to have reduced non-domestic assault in the target Precincts. Continued research is needed to monitor if displacement of these assaults increases further. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To compare the accuracy of Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model and Holt-Winters additive exponential smoothing method for forecasting the size of the total NSW adult prison population. Method: NSW adult prison population data was obtained up until July 2016. A rolling origin approach was used with 20 estimation periods (of increasing length) and 20 validation periods (12-months length). ARIMA model and Holt-Winters additive method were applied to each rolling estimation period. Shorter term (e.g. 1 to 3 months) through longer term (e.g. 6 to 12 months) forecasts were made for the relevant 12-months validation period. These forecasts were compared with the actual monthly number of prisoners using mean absolute error (MAE), root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) to assess accuracy. The average of each accuracy measure was calculated for the one-step through 12-steps lead times across the 20 estimation and validation periods. Results: For shorter forecast lead times (e.g. one-step through three-steps) the ARIMA model and Holt-Winters additive method gave similar accuracy measures for MAE, RMSE and MAPE. In each case, the accuracy of the forecasts decreased as the lead time increased. ARIMA was more accurate than Holt-Winters additive at longer lead times (e.g. six-steps through 12-steps) with smaller forecasting errors. Conclusion: The ARIMA model provided more accurate forecasts compared with the Holt-Winters additive method for longer periods such as six-months to 12-months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To determine whether the fine amount, the fine detection mode and the socioeconomic status of the offender influence the willingness to pay a fine. Method: Adults from NSW were surveyed about their experience with traffic fines and willingness to pay fines. 71 per cent of respondents were obtained from a CATI sample and 29 per cent from on-line surveys. Those who had been fined were randomly allocated to scenarios about paying a future speeding fine based on fine amount ($234, $436, $2,252) and detection mode (speed camera or police). Results: 2,222 (70%) of the 3,154 respondents had been fined for a parking or traffic offence. 21 per cent of this group had not paid their fine on time, while 41 per cent had considered not paying it. Higher fine amounts were associated with lower willingness to pay. While over 80 per cent of the $254 fine scenario was likely or almost certain to pay a future speeding fine, this was only the case for 69 per cent of the $436 scenario and 31 per cent of the $2,252 scenario. There was no significant effect of the mode of detection being speed camera or police. Respondents who were not in paid employment were less willing to pay the $2,252 fine than respondents who were in paid employment (63% certainly would not or would be unlikely to pay vs. 53%). Respondents who had previously considered not paying their fine were more likely to be male, younger, having known a non-payer of a fine who got away with it, had more prior speeding offences and had been fined more recently. Conclusion: Consideration should be given to conducting an economic analysis to determine at what point, the marginal costs associated with higher fines exceed the marginal benefits, at least for offences where fines are commonly used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To investigate the relationship between liquor licence concentrations and assault rates in Local Government Areas (LGAs) in New South Wales. Method: Police, liquor licensing and socio-demographic data were analysed. Spatial regression analyses were conducted to measure associations between liquor licence concentrations and domestic violence (DV) and non-domestic violence (non-DV) assault rates. Results: The concentration of hotel licences in an LGA, particularly at higher density levels, was strongly predictive of both DV and non-DV assault rates. A similar, but slightly weaker, association was found for the concentration of packaged licences and DV and non-DV assault rates. On-premises concentrations also predicted DV and non-DV assault rates at the LGA level but, unlike hotel concentration effects, in this case there was no evidence of stronger effects at higher density levels. A significant relationship between DV assault rates and the concentration of clubs was also found, but the association between the concentration of clubs and the non-DV assault rate was not as strong. Conclusion: Regulatory authorities should be concerned about increases in liquor outlet density. In particular, increases in the density of hotels above 2 per 1,000 residents are of greater concern than increases in the density of premises with other types of liquor licence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To determine whether being referred to the Court Referral of Eligible Defendants into Treatment (CREDIT) pilot program reduces re-offending. Method: Using propensity score matching, adult defendants referred to the CREDIT program, who had their matter finalised in court by 30 June 2011, were matched to control defendants on a large number of socio-demographic, index offence and prior offence characteristics. Intention-to-treat analyses were conducted separately for the two CREDIT pilot sites of Tamworth (n = 261) and Burwood (n = 159). Re-offending was measured until 30 June 2012. Results: No significant differences were found between defendants referred to CREDIT and their matched controls in the proportion re-offending within 12 months, the number of court re-appearances within 12 months or the time to the first proven re-offence. Conclusion: These results suggest that defendants referred to the CREDIT program are as likely to re-offend as defendants who are dealt with through the normal court process. However these results may reflect the very small number of defendants referred to the program over the study period, the short follow-up period involved and the inability to match treatment and control defendants on key variables related to offending (e.g. drug use, mental health issues). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To determine whether the provision of responsible service of alcohol (RSA) changed in NSW licensed premises between 2002 and 2011. Method: A repeat cross-sectional telephone survey of young adults (n=2,503 in 2011, n=2,427 in 2006, n=1,090 in 2002). Results: The percentage of respondents who reported showing at least one sign of intoxication at licensed premises decreased from 2006 to 2011 (from 56% to 51%). The overall provision of RSA to those who reported any signs of intoxication increased from 2002 to 2011 (from 10% in 2002 to 15% in 2006 to 19% in 2011). There was no change in the overall provision of RSA to those who reported three or more signs of intoxication between 2006 and 2011. However, particular RSA practices appear to have become more stringent among more intoxicated patrons (4% were asked to leave the premises in 2006 cf. 12% in 2011). Non-intoxicated patrons also reported that intoxicated patrons were asked to leave the licensed premises more often over this time period. Conclusion: There has been an increase in the use of RSA initiatives in New South Wales licensed premises over the period 2002 through 2011. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To assess whether the Local Court Process Reforms (LCPR) are associated with: (i) shorter police time preparing Briefs of Evidence; (ii) longer hearing times for defended cases, (iii) more court adjournments and; (iv) longer court delay/ finalisation times. Method: A quasi-experiment where Manly Local Court returned to the non-LCPR arrangements in relation to Briefs of Evidence (BOE). These offenders were compared with a baseline group of offenders from Manly Local Court under the LCPR arrangements. Mt Druitt Local Court was used as the control group whereby they remained under the LCPR system. Results: Changing to the non-LCPR system in Manly Court did not result in an increase in the percentage of Table 1 (T1) offenders who had briefs prepared. Table 2 (T2) and non-specified summary offenders had a lower mean number of police statements in their briefs during the LCPR period compared with the non-LCPR period. There was no change in the mean hearing time for defended cases in Manly Court during the non-LCPR period, nor in the mean number of adjournments. In Manly Local Court the average finalisation time for all offenders was shorter during the LCPR period compared with the non-LCPR period. In the control Mt Druitt Local Court, there was no change in finalisation times for the baseline and intervention LCPR groups of offenders. Conclusion: The LCPR arrangements resulted in shorter briefs for T2 and non-specified summary offenders with fewer police statements. However, the non-LCPR requirement of briefs for all T1 offenders in Manly Local Court did not occur. Rather than resulting in longer finalisation times, the LCPR system had shorter finalisation times in Manly Local Court. The LCPR system did not have more local court adjournments compared with the non-LCPR system, nor longer defended hearings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the trends in drug-related crimes in Kings Cross, Sydney in New South Wales. The Sydney Medically Supervised Injecting Centre have conducted an investigation that will assess the prevalence of various drug-related crimes that include cases of illegal use of narcotics and cases related to the use and trafficking of amphetamines. The investigation depicts the prevalent drug abuse in the area along with drug trafficking.

The article explores the patterns of re-offending among offenders released to parole supervision in the 2001-2002 financial year in the New South Wales. The study found that approximately two-thirds of the cohort had reappeared in court by September 2004. Sixty-four percent had been convicted for a new offense. Forty-one percent of the cohort had received further custodial sentence for re-offending.

The article provides information on unilateral hearing loss (UHL), which occurs when the hearing is normal and the other ear has a hearing loss. It discusses the effect of UHL, its prevalence and aetiology as well the causes, including conductive that affects the transmission of sound through the external and middle ear. The management and treatment of UHL are also cited.