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Since bail legislation was enacted in the 1970s, Australia has experienced a continual increase in the number of prisoners on remand. Amendments to bail legislation and police discretion have been shown to contribute to this increase. Further, an accused’s vulnerability affects whether they are granted or denied bail, with vulnerable people being more likely to be denied bail. Vulnerability in the criminal justice system refers to factors such as race, age, sex and socioeconomic status. Many vulnerable people have multiple intersecting vulnerabilities, which further compounds their contact with the justice system. This study employed a qualitative content analysis of bail legislation for the Australian states of New South Wales (NSW), Tasmania, and Victoria, along with key correlating second reading speeches. The aim was to better understand the way in which bail decision-makers, such as police, consider vulnerability when making decisions about bail, in particular, if and how they are legislated to consider factors relating to vulnerability. The research found that only police in NSW and Victoria were required to consider an accused’s vulnerability explicitly under the law. Although legislation may cater for varying vulnerabilities, intersecting vulnerabilities are not considered.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of location on access to justice for vulnerable defendants seeking bail. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative interviews were conducted with legal practitioners from rural, suburban and urban areas as part of a larger study into bail support services in Victoria, Australia. Findings Interview participants identified a dearth of bail support resources in rural, regional and remote (RRR) areas compared to their urban counterparts. This dearth impacted negatively on some defendants’ outcomes in the justice system, particularly for young people and those experiencing homelessness. Practical implications This study helps in improving policy through greater understanding of issues with RRR service provision; adds to knowledge for service providers on access to justice; highlights specific areas of concern for vulnerable populations; and provides a more nuanced understanding of location-based issues. Originality/value This research found that resourcing issues cannot be understood simply through an RRR/urban binary and that more complex factors impacting access to justice and access to services for vulnerable people should be incorporated into future analysis and policy development. This more nuanced understanding is useful across national and international contexts when developing policies to improve bail support service provision.

This article examines the New South Wales Joint Protocol to Reduce the Contact of Young People in Residential OOHC with the Criminal Justice System (2016 ) from the perspective of residential out-of-home-care providers, police, lawyers and departmental staff involved in the child welfare and criminal justice systems in New South Wales.

Evidence from both Australian and international jurisdictions show that children in residential care are over-represented in the criminal justice system. In the current study, we interviewed 46 professionals who had contact with young people in residential care settings in New South Wales, Australia. Our sample included police officers, residential care service providers, legal aid lawyers and juvenile justice workers, about their perceptions of the link between residential care and contact with the criminal justice system. Factors identified by the participants included the care environment itself, use of police as a behavioural management tool, deficient staff training and inadequate policies and funding to address the over-representation. These factors, combined with the legacy of Australia’s colonial past, were a particularly potent source of criminalisation for Aboriginal children in care.

This article presents qualitative data from interviews with 46 welfare and justice professionals to examine the criminalisation of children who go missing within the Out‐Of‐Home‐Care (OOHC) residential environment. Participants had specific experience with children living in residential facilities, either through the direct provision of care services, the development of OOHC policy initiatives or through their role as law enforcement, legal or justice personnel. The research found that agency practices, which were designed to protect children, actually serve to conflate going missing with criminality, accelerating children's involvement in the justice system and ultimately endangering children's safety.

On 20 January 2017 a man drove his car into a crowded pedestrian mall in Bourke St, Melbourne, Victoria, killing six people and injuring dozens more. The alleged perpetrator had been granted bail b...