Iwi community justice panels reduce harm from re-offending

ABSTRACT

The effect of iwi community justice panels is assessed using data from seven years of implementation. Panel participants of 1013 are compared to a control group drawn from 73,000 offenders charged with similar offences and propensity-matched by age, gender, ethnicity, offending history and location. The dependent measure is re-harm from offending calculated using the NZ Crime Harm Index. Panel participants did not reduce their rate of offending compared to matched controls. However, there is a significant reduction in harm from post-panel offending, on average by 26.9 ± 21.05 equivalised prison days. The relative reduction is 22.25% of the harm committed by matched controls. Iwi panels are an effective alternative justice resolution. Panel participants are found to re-offend with minor offences and thus any focus on rates of offending would miss the complexity of the restorative justice process that reduces the harm of re-offending.     

Substance use and other factors associated with child welfare case duration: Looking beyond out of home care

Little is known about factors associated with child welfare case duration. Understanding factors associated with case duration may help stakeholders make more informed decisions about funding and service allocation and improve compliance with federal law. This study had two research questions: (1) What factors are associated with child welfare case duration? And (2) Do factors differ depending on whether children were placed exclusively with parents or with others (e.g. relatives and foster care) during the case? The study sample consisted of families (N = 874) with co-occurring child maltreatment and substance use in one midwestern state in the United States between 2007 and 2016. Linear regression models were used to identify correlates of case duration while controlling for child placement status. Overall, having a child under 1 year of age, benzodiazepine use, methamphetamine use and injection drug use were all associated with longer case duration, whereas marijuana use with no other substance use was associated with shorter case duration. Additionally, factors associated with case duration differed based on child placement status during the case. These findings suggest important heterogeneity in families involved with child welfare services and may allow for proactive mitigation of cases at greater risk.     

An evaluation of the postqualifying framework

A new strategy for postqualifying training in social work was launched in 1990 by CCETSW with the publication of Paper 31. This paper reviews the subsequent implementation of the policy framework and identifies several core issues: level and parity; access and numbers; funding and resources; consortia formation and cohesion; quality and standards; and the role of CCETSW in relation to a UK wide system.

It is argued that the slow development of the new system stemmed from an excessively decentralised partnership approach in developing consortia and the low priority and funding devoted to postqualifying education and training. The quicker pace of development since 1995 has only been achieved through government pressure and CCETSW taking on a stronger lead role together with the continued ring-fenced funding for consortia and bursaries. Without substantial funding from the Department of Health/National Offices and CCETSW, it is questionable whether the objectives of a national widely accessible system of postqualifying education and training will be achieved. The rapid development since autumn 1995 has led to some compromise in standards and the new systems of quality assurance have yet to be tested. Whatever the general merits of partnership/collaboration, CCETSW needs to maintain its more positive development role and clarify the relationship to consortia and the legal status of consortia.

Published research and data on postqualifying education and training is extremely limited and the authors have drawn on their experiences and impressions of the evolving PQ systems during the 1990s. Now that the framework is operational, accrediting programmes/portfolio routes and recruiting and assessing candidates, it is essential to undertake independent research and evaluation into the system and its effectiveness.     

Relationships Between Population Density and the Perceived Quality of Neighbourhood

Two overseas survey-based scales measuring perceived quality of neighbourhood were adapted and replicated in a New Zealand context. An Italian study (Bonaiuto, Fornara, and Bonnes. (2003). Landscape and Urban Planning, 65, 41–52) measuring Perceived Residential Environmental Quality (PREQ) and an American study (Carp and Carp. (1982). Journal of Environmental Psychology, 2, 295–312) using the Perceived Environmental Quality Indices (PEQI) were applied to a sample of Auckland residents, separated into low, medium, and high population density areas. The surveys measured attitudes towards subjects such as noise, neighbours, accessibility, green areas, welfare services, recreational services, safety, maintenance, environmental health, transport services, and characteristics of an ideal neighbourhood, and were completed by 369 respondents. Primary analyses examined differences in perception across the three density groups. The factor structures of both scales were replicated with the Auckland sample, and differences across densities were found for subscales of the PREQ. The results are discussed in relation to the cross-cultural similarities of perceived environmental quality, and the concept that environmental satisfaction is based on balancing aspects of the residential environment is proposed. This research was conducted for the Foundation for Research, Science, and Technology under contract OPSX401.     

CREDIT-SCORING MODELS AND THE CUT-OFF POINT—A SIMPLIFICATION

The article presents a simple method for establishing the optimal cut-off point on a credit-scoring index under a variety of conditions. A procedure for choosing an index from several candidates is also proposed, and the use of credit information in such an index is discussed.     

Fill-in of missing data in univariate coastal data

An approach to fill-in of missing data where gaps exist within an otherwise continuous record is addressed. Ad hoc methods of past approaches are discussed and limitations noted. An approach for providing an estimate of data filling consistent with data having a correlation structure is presented. The method provided is an extension of parametric modelling along with additional constraints imposed via a linear filter to account for variance preservation. The method is applied and compared to real data in which a portion of the record has been removed to simulate missing data. Results show the method to provide realistic missing data that preserves the correlation structure and variance of the measured data.     

Considering the Risk of Infection by Cryptosporidium via Consumption of Municipally Treated Drinking Water from a Surface Water Source in a Southwestern Ontario Community

Through the use of case‐control analyses and quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA), relative risks of transmission of cryptosporidiosis have been evaluated (recreational water exposure vs. drinking water consumption) for a Canadian community with higher than national rates of cryptosporidiosis. A QMRA was developed to assess the risk of Cryptosporidium infection through the consumption of municipally treated drinking water. Simulations were based on site‐specific surface water contamination levels and drinking water treatment log₁₀ reduction capacity for Cryptosporidium. Results suggested that the risk of Cryptosporidium infection via drinking water in the study community, assuming routine operation of the water treatment plant, was negligible (6 infections per 10¹³ persons per day—5th percentile: 2 infections per 10¹⁵ persons per day; 95th percentile: 3 infections per 10¹² persons per day). The risk is essentially nonexistent during optimized, routine treatment operations. The study community achieves between 7 and 9 log₁₀Cryptosporidium oocyst reduction through routine water treatment processes. Although these results do not preclude the need for constant vigilance by both water treatment and public health professionals in this community, they suggest that the cause of higher rates of cryptosporidiosis are more likely due to recreational water contact, or perhaps direct animal contact. QMRA can be successfully applied at the community level to identify data gaps, rank relative public health risks, and forecast future risk scenarios. It is most useful when performed in a collaborative way with local stakeholders, from beginning to end of the risk analysis paradigm.