Resettling Refugees in Rural and Regional Australia: Learning from Recent Policy and Program Initiatives

Conscious policy and program support for the resettlement of refugees in regional and rural areas is a relatively recent trend in Australia. Resettlement is a complex process that hinges on the establishment of viable communities. This review suggests that its outcomes, especially for refugee communities, are potentially mixed. However, an appropriately resourced, well managed and well planned refugee resettlement program can potentially provide beneficial outcomes for refugees and host communities. This article draws on existing empirical data and contributions made at a VicHealth Roundtable in late 2007 to thematically explore the challenges facing rural and regional resettlement programs. Given that settlement is a dynamic process and the approaches to rural and regional settlement are evolving, this article provides 12 propositions for a more effective and integrated approach to policy and practice.     

Parolee Perceptions of Case Management Practices during Reintegration

Researchers argue that the therapeutic alliance is a crucial ingredient for successful releasee treatment outcomes, and more recently in effective correctional treatment. Within the context of the criminal justice system, I illustrate the value of the therapeutic alliance in effective case management and in supporting desistance from crime for reintegrating parolees. The study involved in-depth, semistructured interviews with 56 high-risk/high-need federal male parolees and three parolee case studies. Releasees reported an appreciation for their relationship with their caseworker(s), which they described as supportive and without judgment. I argue this relationship reflects the social dimensions of responsivity and embodies the valued treatment components, optimized through a therapeutic alliance, that foster pathways to releasee reintegration. I conclude by discussing the role of therapeutic alliances in processes of and implications for effective correctional treatment.     

The European Court of Justice and its political impact

This article reviews recent advances in the study of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and its political impact at the European and member state levels. New quantitative as well as qualitative analyses show with great empirical precision that member state preferences guide the Court. The article summarises these findings, but argues that greater attention needs to be given to the (over-)constitutionalisation of EU law in order to fully capture the political impact of ECJ jurisprudence. Even if European judges are less activist than is often assumed and individual decisions are more restrained in the face of member state opposition, incrementally, case law evolves in a highly expansive fashion. And, exercising caution regarding unrealistic expectations about quasi-deterministic judicial law-making, it is found that the Court’s constitutionalised jurisprudence impacts heavily on European and member state policy-making.     

Does Training and Coaching Matter? An 18-Month Evaluation of a Community Supervision Model

During the last decade, several formalized approaches have been developed to improve the effectiveness of probation and parole by implementing evidence-based research into community supervision practices. A key component of these new approaches are the use of officer coaching sessions, which are designed to improve officer fidelity in the core correctional skill areas. This study explores the impact of an initial training and monthly coaching sessions in the Effective Practices in Community Supervision (EPICS) model on probation and parole officer use of core correctional skills. The results examine the average quarterly officer use of skills over an 18-month follow-up period based on training status (i.e., trained versus untrained officers) in the EPICS model. This study adds to the understanding of the role training and coaching may play in improving officer use of core correctional skills. Policy implications and recommendations for future research are also discussed.     

论处置劫持人质案件工作预案

劫持人质案件处置工作具有复杂性,处置结果具有难以明确预见的特点。制定处置劫持人质案件工作预案应当体现超前性、专业性和可操作性,处置劫持人质案件工作预案的程序性作用在于：有利于使警方的处置过程及处置结果接受社会舆论监督;有助于使当事人及其家属接受处置结果;有助于明确民警职责,形成处置人员保护机制。处置劫持人质案件工作预案的实体性意义在于有利于警方高效、有序地开展处置工作,确保处置活动成功,其制作过程包括调查研究阶段、预案形成阶段以及预案评估阶段。     

农村治安新动向及解决途径

转型期农村利益调整,致使暴力性侵财案件、报复性治安案件和群体性事件频发。村级组织软弱涣散,群防群治机制欠缺,执法后续监督不到位,农村公安工作基础薄弱,是影响农村治安的主要因素。创建农村社会治安稳定局面,有待提高农民法制素质,调整农村社会生活中的各种关系,建立健全村、乡（镇）的组织功能,强化农村基层公安派出所的治安保障能力,还可以尝试开展治安承包,通过有偿方式和市场行为辅助解决农村治安防控问题。     

新型农村合作医疗中的农民参与——河北省枣强县的实证研究

农民的参与意愿是决定新型农村合作医疗推广工作成败的重要因素之一。那麽,在实践中农民的参与意愿究竟如何,有哪些因素影响着农民的参与意愿呢？本文通过封河北省枣强县大营镇的实地调查发现,定点医院服务质量的好坏、医疗费用报销是否方便、政府在新农合推广中的工作态度和农民的收入状况、受教育程度等对他们参与积极性有着重要的影响。     

刑事诉讼审级制度之反思与重构

现代各国的刑事诉讼审级制度虽有一定差异,但多是以三审终审制为原则确立的。随着市场经济的发展和我国法院改革的不断深化,现有四级两审终审制的缺陷已不断显现,并与现代审级制度的一般原理相悖。现有审级制度在程序设计上以及在与司法体制相融合时表现出的渚多缺陷,已经影响到对被告人诉讼权利的保护和司法公正的实现,因此需重新建构以三审终审为原则,以一审终审为补充的刑事诉讼审级制度,同时实行法院的职能分层,规范再审制度。     

民事申请再审案件受理程序规范化改造

2007年民事诉讼法修订以来,关于再审程序划分的“三阶构说”日渐占据民事诉讼学界的主导地位.应从“三阶构说”的理论基础出发,结合现有法律规定,深入研究并完善民事申请再审案件受理程序具体内容,并针对其中若干疑难问题展开讨论,提出进一步完善申请再审案件受理程序的理论方向和具体构想,力求建立起更加完善、更具有操作性的民事申请再审案件受理程序.     

视频侦查技术工作的现状和思考

视频侦查技术是继刑侦、技侦、网侦之后的第四大侦查技术,给公安工作带来了新的破案技术支撑和增长点.视频侦查技术是强化社会治安控制的有效手段,对提高侦查机关打击犯罪的效能具有重大意义.尽快将这一新兴的侦查技术广泛应用到公安实战,发挥其巨大作用,是当前研究的重点.