Western governments and the mainstream media continue to ignore or play down the human costs of the war on Iraqi citizens This has allowed them to present their role as the benign guardians of Iraqi interests. The authors deconstruct this narrative by presenting a portrait of the total carnage in Iraq today as told by Iraqis and other witnesses who experienced it firsthand.

Featuring in-depth interviews with Iraqi refugees in Syria, Jordan and Western countries, Erasing Iraq is a comprehensive and moving account of the Iraqi people's tragedy.

Written by a range of experienced specialists, each chapter reflects a major area in which forensic psychologists work, giving a real sense of the underpinning knowledge base from which the profession operates.

This book endeavours to balance the work of academic forensic psychologists, primarily interested in teaching and research, with the applied understanding of practitioners who spend time in prisons, courts, tribunals, psychiatric facilities and other relevant institutions and organisations. Readers will obtain an appreciation of the diverse, complex and challenging tasks that forensic psychologists face on a day-to-day basis, and an understanding of the implications that the field has for psychology as a whole as well as related disciplines. Methodological issues are covered in a way that is relevant to forensic settings, with a focus on implementation and treatment programs.

Forensic Psychology and Criminology is an essential resource not only for students undertaking tertiary studies in the discipline, but also for academic forensic psychologists and practitioners in the field.

... Indeed, one commentator has gone so far as to suggest that because of our penal background, punishment is a cherished part of the Australian way of life. Certainly in Queensland we seem almost proud of the fact that we make jails tougher and spend less than almost any other state on rehabilitating offenders. During 2000-01 the Australian Productivity Commission reported that Queensland spent the lowest amount on each prisoner a day in each category of managed prisons and community corrections. We spent $116 in secure custody, $72 in open custody and $3 in community corrections. These amounts compare with the national average costs for each prisoner a day of $149 for secure, $117 for open and $6.50 for community corrections.

... Both Premier Peter Beattie and Attorney-General Rod Welford seem to have taken notice of the outpouring of anguish concerning Hanson's three-year sentence and are considering a review of Queensland sentencing practices. But if we are going to spend public money on a government review of sentencing practices, let us at least make it relevant and useful. We could begin by questioning the tedious proposition that more imprisonment and longer sentences will reduce crime in the community. Then we could continue by attacking what retired Supreme Court judge Bill Carter has called the mindless assertion that a bit of prison will do him/her the world of good.

While crime rates have remained steady in Queensland in recent years, successive governments have legislated to ensure more punitive sentencing, adding to a range of other factors that have contributed to Queensland’s high imprisonment rate (Watts 2000). At the same time there has been a devolution in the reach of government and continued calls for greater state efficiencies in view of the high costs of corrections. Indeed, ‘the corrective services system has had to bear the brunt of the community’s demand for law and order while coping with a government focus on efficiency and competitive business management techniques’ (Peach 1999, 2). With the introduction and now widespread expansion of the private sector in prison construction and management, both in Australia and internationally, attention has now turned to the potential for increased private sector involvement in the delivery of community corrections.

The impetus for the present research comes from the observation that as long ago as 1973, attention was drawn to the consequences of failing to provide probation staff, funds and resources, resulting in ‘the needless jailing of offenders’ and the development and worsening in severity of criminal careers (National Advisory Committee on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals 1973, 335). The potential privatisation of community corrections has been characterised as being ‘an antidote to complacency and the painful realisation that the prison population may never come down but may continue to escalate in a relentless manner, and that existing “alternatives to custody” have failed to check either the crime rate or the prison population’ (Vass and Menzies 1989, 255).

Aims of the research

The three major aims associated with this research were to: i) identify important factors relating to implementation and operation of CCTV surveillance, ii) evaluate whether increased implementation and use of CCTV has influenced public perceptions relating to privacy and civil liberties and iii) examine whether CCTV makes a significant and effective contribution to reducing crime and detecting offenders in both public spaces and on public rail transport.

Methodology

The first aim was explored by assessing the operation and management of the Gold Coast Safety Camera Network (GCSCN) and QR Citytrain network. This involved obtaining records and conducting site visits and interviews. An overview of the applicable geographic areas was presented as were the different CCTV system designs and operational options that had been adopted by GCSCN and QR Citytrain network. Findings from interviews with key users of the GCSCN and QR Citytrain network were presented to examine adequacy of training, how suspicious behaviours are identified and the monitoring strategies employed, the quality of working relationships with external agencies and the evidentiary value of CCTV surveillance.

The second aim explored a range of issues associated with camera surveillance through a 100 hour observational study of the GCSCN control room and surveys of the general public, business traders and rail commuters. The observational study of the GCSCN investigated the general control room operational practices, the monitoring strategies adopted, why monitoring was initiated, the types of incidents surveilled and the targets of CCTV surveillance. The survey research was undertaken to ascertain the impact that CCTV has on the wider public and to gain information regarding peoples’ experiences with CCTV and their perceptions relating to privacy.

The final aim of the research was explored via the impact of CCTV on recorded crime data. Time-series analyses were used to evaluate reported offending in Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach (areas with public space CCTV) and nine train stations with CCTV surveillance (Beenleigh, Bethania, Brunswick Street, Indooroopilly, Ipswich, Morayfield, Nundah, Southbank/Vulture St and Strathpine Stations).