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19 Aust. & N.Z. J. Criminology 1 (1986)

handle is hein.journals/anzjc19 and id is 1 raw text is: AUST & NZ JOURNAL OF CRIMINOLOGY (March 1986) 19 (1-3) EDITORIAL An Appreciation After four years as Editor of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, Peter Sallmann has stepped down. He will, however, continue as Assistant Editor. Peter Sallmann's contribution to the Journal must not go without acknowledgement. As Assistant Editor over the four years, and as a colleague who worked with Peter in the same department at La Trobe University, I am in a good position to assess the work he has put into the Journal and his achievements as Editor. The editorial task is not insubstantial - there are four issues of the Journal annually, at present three of them of 64 pages and one of 96 pages. To this task Peter has brought high levels of industry, knowledge, diplomacy and efficiency. In addition, everything was accomplished with grace, courtesy and a minimum of fuss. The success of his endeavours is to some extent reflected in the Journal, which has, in my opinion, improved considerably in quality over the last few years. An editor is, of course, to a large extent constrained by the quality of manuscript he receives; and as Peter stated in the December 1985 Editorial, more and better articles are being submitted for publication. Nevertheless, an editor by the selection of material, the use of referees and suggestions for revision and improvement of articles can make a major contribution to improving the standard of the Journal. The growth in the quality of the Journal is in no small measure a reflection of Peter's contribution. Fortunately, his experience and skills will not be completely lost for he has agreed to remain as Assistant Editor, in which position I have no doubt he will be exploited by the current Editor. I thank Peter on my own behalf and on behalf of the Executive of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology and wish him every success in his new position as a full-time Commissioner with the Victorian Law Reform Commission. Efficiency and Criminal Justice Efficiency is very much in these days, and efficiency experts or management consultants are, it would appear, making a handsome living from advising people on how to manage their activities in the most cost-efficient manner. And certainly in the institutions and processes of criminal justice, there is room for considerable increases in efficiency. Thus, delays of many months in some jurisdictions beween charging and committal and committal and trial are not only unfair to all concerned - defendant, victim, witnesses - but are deeply inefficient: evidence deteriorates; memories fade; exhibits get lost; witnesses die; defendants get lost; and the trial and sentence, if there is a conviction, often lose much of their impact. These problems of delay are well known to those concerned with criminal justice administration and considerable efforts have already been made to address some of the problems. The problems of delay, however, would seem to be much more than a matter of inefficiency, although that is no doubt still a factor. Many criminal trials are now taking longer, apparently, because they are being much better run. Mr Justice Garvie of the Victorian Supreme Court comparing Victorian trial practices of today with those of perhaps a quarter of a century ago has written: 1

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