Problems of recurring corruption have stimulated major reforms in policing in many countries in the last 30 years. Considerable advances have been made in recruitment, training, complaints investigations and external oversight of conduct. However, continuing problems have prompted a search for more effective forms of misconduct prevention. This article examines the situation in Australia in relation to the emerging and controversial anti-corruption strategy of integrity testing. The study is concerned with `integrity tests' that simulate misconduct opportunities for serving officers—not pre-employment screening tests. The eight police agencies in Australia were asked to supply information on planned or implemented testing programmes as well as information on policy perspectives and debates. Only three jurisdictions were identified as conducting targeted testing. The success of these programmes in identifying misconduct suggests this may be an essential anti-corruption device and leaves a question mark over the adequacy of accountability in jurisdictions without this capacity. Two other agencies were planning to introduce targeted testing. While some agencies had given serious consideration to random integrity testing, legal, ethical and practical concerns have meant that no programmes have been introduced except for drug and alcohol testing. The latter also appears to be a useful tool to improve police conduct. The article concludes with a theoretical review of the possible benefits of randomized testing as a form of behavioural audit.
Growing evidence shows that non-offending mothers experience significant loss and trauma following their child reporting experiencing sexual abuse. Maternal support offered to sexually abused children following disclosure can be a crucial factor in children's recovery. Although mothers are often seen as playing a central role in facilitating the recovery of their sexually abused child, there has been little focus on their own needs and profiles. This present study aimed to increase our understanding of the diversity of profiles of non-offending mothers of sexually abused children by exploring the differences in psychosocial traits of non-offending mothers (N = 68; age range 28-67 years) reporting higher and lower resilience. The mediating role of these psychosocial factors on the relationship between resilience and psychological distress will also be explored. Results found that non-offending mothers in the higher resilience group reported higher levels of positive reappraisal, self-compassion, social support, and significantly lower levels of psychological distress compared to non-offending mothers in the lower resilience group. Additionally, multiple mediation analysis indicated positive reappraisal, self-compassion, and social support to be significant mediators of the relationship between resilience and psychological distress. Increased levels of self-compassion and social support were found to be predictive of lowered psychological distress, while increased positive reappraisal predicted increased psychological distress. The findings of the present study provide support for the targeting of the psychosocial factors such as self-compassion, social support, and positive reappraisal in interventions for non-offending mothers in an effort to promote resilience.
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