Autistic adults and their experiences with police personnel: a qualitative inquiry.

This study uses a qualitative methodological approach to investigate the experiences that autistic adults have when encountering police personnel. An anonymous, online, semi-structured survey asking open-ended questions about individual experience was used, and the data were analysed thematically. Although only five participants comprised the final sample, the findings illustrate how - despite differences in types of interaction and police contact - similar experiences were reported.

: Evaluation of a training intervention to increase capacity in managing detained youth with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and neurodevelopmental impairments.

The first study to investigate the prevalence of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) within an Australian juvenile detention centre has identified the highest known prevalence of FASD among a justice-involved population worldwide. However, there has been limited investigation into the capacity of the custodial workforce to identify and manage young people in Australian detention centres with FASD or other neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI), and no published interventions aiming to develop environments appropriate for those with FASD in justice settings. Using the Template for Intervention Description and Replication checklist, this study describes the conception, implementation and evaluation of a training intervention aiming to upskill the custodial workforce in the management of youth with FASD and NDI; 117 staff participated in the intervention, and 109 completed pre- and post-intervention surveys.

Intimate Partner Homicide: Themes in Judges' Sentencing Remarks.

The aim of this study was to analyse judges' sentencing remarks in cases of intimate partner homicide. Grounded theory methodology was used to undertake a qualitative analysis of the remarks, and the emanating data identified four key themes, as discussed in this article. These themes are: the sentencing of Aboriginal offenders; offender violence; the use of alcohol and/or drugs; and provocation.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD): Knowledge, attitudes, experiences and practices of the Western Australian youth custodial workforce.

Background: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is a condition caused by prenatal alcohol exposure and characterised by lifelong physical, behavioural and cognitive abnormalities. Primary disabilities, such as impairment in memory, attention, cognition, language, executive function, and adaptive function, can lead to young people with FASD becoming engaged with the justice system. Little is known about the extent of FASD in youth detention in Australia, or of the capacity custodial staff have to manage and support young people with FASD.

The Use of Alcohol and/or Drugs in Intimate Partner Homicide: Themes in Judges' Sentencing Remarks.

This article presents the results of a major theme arising out of a grounded theory analysis of judges' sentencing remarks for males and females sentenced for intimate partner homicide in Australia between July 2009 and June 2014. Specifically, this article focuses on judges' commentary regarding the use of alcohol and/or drugs as a contributing factor to the offending. The qualitative data indicate that despite the seriousness of the offence, sentencing judges often fail to attribute with clarity a sufficient degree of responsibility to male offenders for their voluntary consumption of alcohol and drugs and their subsequent violent behaviour.

Rationalizing criminal behaviour: the influence of criminal sentiments on sociomoral development in violent offenders and nonoffenders.

Cognitive developmental theory suggests that mature-level sociomoral reasoning (Stages 3 and 4) can provide a protective factor, or buffer, against antisocial and violent criminal behavior. This study explored whether the influence of internalised criminal sentiments could undermine this buffer. The sample was high-risk men and women offenders (n = 99) convicted of serious violent index offences, and men and women nonoffender university students (n = 101).