Vol. 11 No. 1 (2023): Salus Journal

Welcome to Salus Journal issue 11, number 1. This edition of Salus Journal has research which takes a closer look at issues affecting Australian safety and security.

It features an original research article by Associate Professor Amber McKinley and Samantha Jones, titled “Unsolved serial homicides in Australia, 1965-2022”, which explores the victim and incident characteristics of unsolved serial homicide over a fifty-seven-year period.  This research sheds a new light on the decision-making processes of perpetrators to avoid detection.

This edition also showcases the first Professional Insight by Sam Miletta, who has examined the use of fire as a weapon during on Australian case studies. In demonstrating the deliberate use of fire in incidences such as ambush, civil unrest, barricade, bushfires, and complex or coordinated acts of violence, Miletta provides recommendations for future practice by first responders.

There are also two book reviews: Understanding Homicide by Fiona Brookman by Associate Professor Amber McKinley; and Motherhood after Incarceration by Melissa Thompson and Summer Newell was reviewed by Cheryl Botello.

We would also like to take this opportunity to advise readers and authors of the re-design and re-launch of the Salus Journal website.

The new website features:

• An updated, streamlined, and more accessible interface
• Integration with OJS/PKP software to make your manuscript submissions faster and easier. It also enables better manuscript management for editors and peer reviewers;
• Portage of historic Salus Journal papers to the new platform, which will allow each paper to have a unique URL which can be used by authors to gain more insight into paper performance;

Our commitment to Salus Journal’s policies and standards remains the same, and we have sought to further emphasise the double-blind peer review process on the new platform. The new website remains available under the original web address, found here.

This work was generously funded by the Faculty of Business, Justice and Behavioural Studies at Charles Sturt University. We would like to thank the Faculty for their support. We would also like to thank Patrick McKenzie for his design innovation, technical expertise and management, and persistence implementing the Salus Journal re-design.

And as always, we must thank the peer reviewers and production editor Mark Filmer for making this issue of Salus Journal happen.

Joint Editors-in-Chief,

Dr Kristy Campion & Dr Jamie Ferrill