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This paper is drawn from a larger study investigating community perceptions of police legitimacy in the Monash Local Government Area (LGA), in the Australian state of Victoria. Monash had seen declining results in the official government survey in the indicators that assessed police legitimacy over the preceding decade. The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions of both migrant and non-migrant participants to understand the role of migrant status in influencing assessments of police legitimacy in Monash LGA.

Through six focus groups, 18 interviews and one e-mail response with 31 individuals, perceptions of Victoria Police among the communities of Monash were collated and analysed.

One of the key findings of the study was that ethnic diversity and/or migrant status of community members were a key factor raised in response to questions about community perceptions of the legitimacy of Victoria Police in Monash LGA. Demographic change had been significant in Monash LGA over the preceding decade, including increasing ethnic diversity in the population and a shift in migration patterns from predominantly European to migrants from East and South Asia. In this paper, the authors suggest that the migrant status of Monash residents was a key factor that both migrant and non-migrant participants thought influenced perceptions of the police. Accordingly, because migrants make up a significant cohort of Australia’s population, we afford due attention to this previously overlooked topic.

The practical implications of this paper are as follows: existing Victoria Police partnerships in the Monash community should be continued and expanded where possible; Victoria Police should also prioritise partnerships with large, new migrant communities, for example, Monash’s Chinese communities; orientation for new migrants to Victoria around the criminal justice system, including Victoria Police, would help new migrants be more aware of their rights and what to expect of law enforcement in their new host country; police should continue to increase representation of ethnic diversity in the force via recruitment of greater numbers of ethnically diverse police members.

Although there have been previous Australian studies on migrant status as a factor in perceptions of criminal justice (see Murphy and Cherney, 2011, 2012; Hong Chui and Kwok-Yin Cheng, 2014), the paper identifies a distinct narrative around migrants’ views of Victoria Police which the authors believe warrant further investigation using an example from a local context. Furthermore, most research in this field has been quantitative. The current study provides additional new insights through an in-depth qualitative approach.

This paper aims to show that international students may become victims and/or perpetrators of crime. This paper uses interview data to examine the social influences contributing to these incidences.

A qualitative approach using data from in-depth interviews with key informers and international students across Australia, the USA and the UK underpins this study.

The results show that the interviewees generally believed that international students were not commonly perpetrators of crime. Cultural, socioeconomic and mental health factors contributed to circumstances that involved international students as perpetrators of crime.

The practical implications of this paper are a need for the host country to provide a greater level of information about laws and local customs; need for international students need to have adequate finances; a need for international students to be made aware of the illegal practices of others, including those who belong to their national group; and a for greater awareness and support of the stresses associated with undertaking higher education in a foreign country.

Based on primary qualitative data, this paper presents an original study about crime that looks beyond the common perception that international students are always victims. This paper focusses on the often-overlooked topic of international students as perpetrators of crime and the social influences that often underpin the circumstances.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of encounters on police legitimacy and levels of trust in the police in the Monash Local Government Area in the state of Victoria, Australia. Monash was chosen as it had experienced declining results in the official National Survey of Community Satisfaction with Policing in relation to police legitimacy and trust.

A qualitative case study comprising 18 interviews and six focus groups with community representatives from Monash is employed in the paper.

When procedural justice approaches are applied during encounters between the police and the public, encounters contribute to securing legitimacy for the police. Contact between the police and the public in everyday situations also enhances trust in the police, depending on the way the police conduct themselves during such interactions.

Findings from a qualitative case study are not able to be widely generalised but the conclusions are still useful for informing insights into processes impacting police legitimacy and trust.

Contributes to informing evidence-based police practice around the way police conduct themselves during community interactions; informs policy decisions around allocation of funding for law enforcement with more officers required to carry out community policing; emphasises the importance of prioritising partnerships with communities; demonstrates that positive police/community relations have wider social cohesion implications in a contemporary era of counter-terrorism priorities.

The majority of research in this field to date has been quantitative. A qualitative approach provides fresh insights into the mechanisms of police legitimacy, especially the role of encounters and procedural justice.

Culturally familiar food is of great importance to migrants. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of food in the lives of South African migrants to Australia. How food impacts on notions of identity and belonging for immigrants is framed and discussed within the context of nostalgia, sharing and Bourdieu’s “habitus”.

Through mixed qualitative methods, including participatory research, document analysis and in-depth interviews, this study examines the everyday experiences of South African-Australians. The study employs an interpretivist approach that aims for greater understanding of the subject through the perspectives of the research participants.

Culinary rituals and traditions feature large in personal narratives of adjustment that reveal the important role of food in contributing to identity translation in a destination society and, ultimately, the attainment of belonging for migrants.

The study provides a “snapshot” of a topic that would benefit from further exploration.

The importance for migrants to have access to cultural traditions surrounding food is acknowledged in the contemporary world where increasingly mobile populations need to maintain a sense of identity and feel a sense of belonging while integrating into host societies.

Traditional cuisines are an integral part of the mechanisms by which migrants can better integrate leading to overall greater social cohesion.

The study contributes a new dimension to the body of literature pertaining to food access and security for culturally diverse groups in multicultural societies.

If police are perceived as legitimate, communities are more likely to assist in the fight against crime making policework easier and resources go further. The problem is, members of a diverse community may view the police in different ways making it difficult for police to be everything to everyone. This study reveals two strands of emerging vulnerability in relation to law and order in a rapidly urbanising area, affecting perceptions of police legitimacy for both groups. The study also demonstrated the relationship between global processes and local issues. The chapter draws on data from a larger study which explored the legitimacy of Victoria Police in the Monash Local Government Area in Melbourne, Australia. Community perceptions of the police were collected during 6 focus groups and 18 interviews. For the past decade, Monash had experienced declining results in the government’s quarterly policing survey in areas that assessed police legitimacy. This research utilised qualitative methods to gather detailed community opinions, in contrast to the quantitative government survey. The chapter focusses on the key finding that there had been many changes in Monash during the preceding decade, including intense urbanisation and increased ethnic diversity. However, police services had not been correspondingly increased or diversified and were not thought adequate to respond to current demands. As a result, community members felt vulnerable and this influenced community perceptions of Victoria Police. Rapid urbanisation has implications for police legitimacy. It is important that police services and infrastructure are not neglected during periods of urban change in order to mitigate feelings of vulnerability in different communities.