@article {bnh-6997, title = {The effect of firefighter-delivered fire safety education on young people who misuse fire}, journal = {Fire Safety Journal}, year = {2020}, month = {06/2020}, abstract = {

Youth misuse of fire is a multifaceted, complex and dangerous phenomenon that is difficult to predict and detect. Reduction relies heavily on prevention programs operated by, or in conjunction with, fire services. Youth Justice Conferencing with firefighter involvement is a tertiary prevention program implemented in New South Wales, Australia, by Juvenile Justice New South Wales and Fire and Rescue New South Wales for young people who have committed a fire-related offence. The aim of this project was to evaluate this program to ascertain whether, and if so how, firefighter-delivered fire safety education in the context of conferencing reduced the risk of misuse of fire. The evaluation involved quantitative analysis of 10 years{\textquoteright} worth of conferencing record and recidivism data and qualitative analysis of interviews conducted with program practitioners. Findings revealed that firefighter-delivered fire safety education in the context of conferencing contributed to a reduction in general reoffending whilst providing an avenue through which firefighters could deliver fire safety education to members of the community who were at-risk. These findings have implications for the tertiary prevention of youth misuse of fire.

}, keywords = {Arson, Fire prevention, Fire safety education, Fire service, firefighter, Juvenile justice, Youth justice conferencing, youth misuse of fire}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.firesaf.2020.103156}, url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0379711220302423?via\%3Dihub}, author = {Kamarah Pooley} } @mastersthesis {bnh-5105, title = {An evaluation of youth justice conferencing for youth misuse of fire}, year = {2018}, month = {05/2018}, school = {Queensland University of Technology}, abstract = {

This project involved an evaluation of firefighter involvement in Youth Justice Conferencing to determine whether, and if so how, this program facilitates the prevention of youth misuse of fire. Evaluation comprised quantitative analyses of a decade of Youth Justice Conferencing records and recidivism data, alongside qualitative analysis of program practitioner interviews. Findings revealed that, although there are some areas in need of improvement, Youth Justice Conferencing with firefighter involvement contributes to a reduction in the risk of general recidivism, whilst providing an avenue through which to deliver fire safety education to at-risk groups within the community.

}, keywords = {Arson, child-centred disaster risk reduction, conferencing, Fire, firefighter, juvenile, prevention, restorative, youth justice, youth misuse of fire}, doi = {10.5204/thesis.eprints.116520}, url = {https://eprints.qut.edu.au/116520/}, author = {Kamarah Pooley} } @article {bnh-6998, title = {Firefighter involvement in Youth Justice Conferencing: Implications for fire prevention}, journal = {Fire Safety Journal}, volume = {102}, year = {2018}, month = {12/2018}, pages = {59-65}, abstract = {

In response to the {\textquoteleft}Black Christmas{\textquoteright} bushfire crisis in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, the Premier of NSW called for the utilisation of Youth Justice Conferencing to {\textquoteleft}confront young people with the harm they had caused{\textquoteright} by their misuse of fire. Legislative amendments were subsequently enacted to particularise Youth Justice Conferencing outcome plans to fire-related offences. To facilitate the inclusion of fire-specific outcome plan tasks, Juvenile Justice NSW and Fire and Rescue NSW engaged in a\ Memorandum of Understanding\ to administer\ firefighter\ involvement in Youth Justice Conferencing. Despite operating for over a decade, this approach has only recently attracted empirical inquiry. As part of a broader study, interviews with program developers, conference convenors, program coordinators, and local firefighters were conducted. Content analysis revealed five major concepts that suggest firefighter involvement in Youth Justice Conferencing has implications for fire prevention.

}, keywords = {Fire, firefighter, Juvenile arson, prevention, Youth justice conferencing, youth misuse of fire}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.firesaf.2018.11.003}, url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0379711218300171?via\%3Dihub}, author = {Kamarah Pooley} } @article {bnh-3951, title = {{\textquotedblleft}Since I went to the conference{\textellipsis} I have really thought just how bad lighting fires are{\textquotedblright}: diversionary conferencing for youth misuse of fire}, journal = {Crime Prevention and Community Safety}, volume = {19}, year = {2017}, month = {02/2017}, pages = {122-135}, chapter = {122}, abstract = {

Youth misuse of fire presents a significant risk to life and property. In Australia, the tertiary prevention of youth misuse of fire involves firefighter participation in diversionary conferencing convened for young people who commit fire-related offences. This approach assumes that young people misuse fire due to a lack of awareness of the consequences, and that education delivered by firefighters in the context of conferencing reduces the risk of future misuse of fire. To explore the validity of this assumption, content analysis of apology letters derived from diversionary conferences convened for young people who committed fire-related offences in New South Wales and Tasmania, Australia, was conducted. Findings suggest that diversionary conferencing with firefighter involvement has the potential to target misuse of fire which manifests from a lack of awareness of the consequences, and that the provision of education has the potential to reduce such misuse of fire by young people.

}, doi = {10.1057/s41300-017-0016-5}, url = {https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41300-017-0016-5}, author = {Kamarah Pooley} } @conference {bnh-3878, title = {Youth justice conferencing for youth misuse of fire: a case study of collaboration}, booktitle = {AFAC17}, year = {2017}, month = {09/2017}, publisher = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC}, organization = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC}, address = {Sydney}, abstract = {

Youth misuse of fire (YMF) refers to any illegitimate use of fire or incendiary materials by a person under the age of 18 years (Pooley \& Ferguson, 2017). Existing literature exposes YMF as a multifaceted and complex behaviour (Martin, Bergen, Richardson, Roeger, \& Allison, 2004) that presents a significant risk to life and property (Pooley, 2015). To address this concern, programs have been specifically designed to target and reduce misuse of fire by young people. One such program is Youth Justice Conferencing for YMF. This program involves firefighter participation in Youth Justice Conferencing convened for young people who commit fire-related offences. The role of firefighters is to provide education on the consequences of misusing fire and to suggest fire safety related tasks for a young person to complete as a means of making reparation for harm caused by their behaviour (NSW Government, 2016). These mechanisms aim to stimulate cognitive and behavioural change in young people, reducing the risk of recidivism.

Despite formally operating in New South Wales (NSW) since 2006, this program had not undergone independent empirical inquiry. To partially fill this void, a research-oriented evaluation was conducted. This evaluation revealed that the efficacy of the program relies heavily on successful collaboration between urban fire and juvenile justice services, government and non-government entities, and young people and adults. However, the evaluation also highlighted areas in need of improvement. For best practice to be attained, collaboration is also required with the rural fire service, between practitioners and researchers, and between proponents of restorative justice, fire prevention, and child-centred disaster risk reduction. Such findings have implications for enhancing the efficacy of the program, and reflect a useful case study of collaboration.

}, author = {Kamarah Pooley} } @article {bnh-3952, title = {Youth Justice Conferencing for youth misuse of fire: a child-centred disaster risk reduction mechanism}, journal = {Australian Journal of Emergency Management}, volume = {32}, year = {2017}, month = {01/2017}, abstract = {
Youth misuse of fire is a multifaceted, complex, and dangerous phenomenon. In response to this problem, Fire and Rescue NSW and Juvenile Justice NSW established a memorandum of understanding to facilitate firefighter involvement in the provision of fire safety education during Youth Justice Conferencing for young people who commit fire-related offences. Despite being used for over a decade, conferencing for youth misuse of fire is yet to attract theoretical analysis or empirical investigation. To partially fill this void, a theoretical analysis of Youth Justice Conferencing for youth misuse of fire was conducted. Comparative analysis revealed that child-centred disaster risk reduction offers a scaffold to explain and justify the mechanisms operating in Youth Justice Conferencing for youth misuse of fire. This theoretical alignment has implications for both Youth Justice Conferencing and child-centred disaster risk reduction.
}, url = {https://ajem.infoservices.com.au/items/AJEM-32-02-21}, author = {Kamarah Pooley} } @article {bnh-6999, title = {Using environmental criminology theories to compare {\textquoteleft}youth misuse of fire{\textquoteright} across age groups in New South Wales}, journal = {Australian \& New Zealand Journal of Criminology}, volume = {50}, year = {2015}, month = {07/2015}, pages = {100-102}, abstract = {

Youth misuse of fire is a substantive community concern. Despite evidence which indicates youths account for a significant proportion of all deliberately lit fires within Australia, an absence of up-to-date, contextually specific research means the exact scope and magnitude of youth misuse of fire within Australia remains unknown. Despite research suggesting commonalities exist between youth misuse of fire and juvenile offending more broadly, misuse of fire is rarely explained using criminological theory. In light of this gap, a descriptive analysis of youth misuse of fire within New South Wales was performed. Routine Activity Theory and Crime Pattern Theory were tested to explain differences in misuse of fire across age groups. Results suggest these environmental theories offer useful frameworks for explaining youth misuse of fire in New South Wales. It is argued that the Routine Activity Theory and Crime Pattern Theory can be employed to better inform youth misuse of fire policy and prevention efforts.

}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1177/0004865815596794}, url = {https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0004865815596794}, author = {Kamarah Pooley and Claire Ferguson} }