Write for us
The APJ welcomes articles from serving or former police, public safety officials, academics and anyone with a legitimate interest in law enforcement matters.
The key points are:
- Submissions must be relevant to policing in Australasia
- The publication process is a partnership between the APJ and authors, and
- Published authors will be offered an honorarium of AUD$75 per printed page.
SELECTION CRITERIA
When considering submissions for publication, the APJ editorial team applies the following criteria:
- Is the article relevant to policing in Australasia?
- Is the article educational, informative and/or entertaining?
- Are assertions in the article supported by evidence and facts?
- For crime case histories, has the investigation concluded and have convicted offender/s exhausted all legal avenues of appeal?
- For unsolved crime cases, have investigating police endorsed the publication of the article?
- For training, education and other types of contemporary corporate articles, are they approved by the relevant police force?
- Are quotations or the writings of others, referred to in the article, suitably acknowledged?
- Are there photographs or other images to help illustrate the article?
- Has the APJ previously published an article about the topic?
As part of the evaluation and publishing processes, a clearance from the relevant police force is usually required (see below).
AUDIENCE
The majority of APJ readers are serving or retired police. Other readers include the families of subscribers, unsworn police employees, officials as well as members of the public and media with an interest in law enforcement issues.
NON-FICTION
While the APJ may print cartoons and jokes, or explore hypothetical scenarios in relation to actual criminal cases, it does not print fictional stories.
TOPICS
Noting articles must be relevant to Australasian law enforcement (educational, informative and/or entertaining), there is almost a limitless potential for topics. Previous examples of articles include, but are not limited to:
- Crime case studies – investigations into homicides, robberies, thefts, sexual assaults, other victim-based crimes, drug offences, road offences, terrorist incidents, environmental crimes etc
- Police responses – disasters and emergencies, major events, international peacekeeping etc
- Educational – new training practices, briefings on crime types, legislation/offences, trends in policing, court decisions, comparative studies between organisations etc
- Technical developments or innovations – new equipment and technology, new business practices etc
- Historical – histories of units, stations, organisations etc
- People – profiles of notable police officials, acts of bravery, members killed on duty etc
- Awareness – allied or charitable organisations that assist or work alongside police or who support victims of crime, police-related sporting, musical or welfare groups etc, and
- Miscellaneous – poetry, humour, ceremonial and protocol, photography, insignia etc.
ARTICLE LENGTH
There is no pre-set word limit. A page in the APJ contains approximately 500 words. Don’t worry if you think your article is either too short or too long – an Assistant Editor will work with you to maximise its quality.
ACADEMIC ARTICLES
The APJ often publishes articles that are based on reports or papers which had been written earlier for another forum (eg: a university essay or a conference paper). The subject matter in these papers can be vital in the education of the readership on policing issues.
However – the APJ is not an academic publication.
It is normal for academic submissions to be substantially edited to suit the publication’s style. For instance, the APJ prefers footnotes or endnotes rather than the ‘Harvard’ annotation method. Further, extensive bibliographies are rarely printed or will only be included in the online version of the article. Authors seeking to have their papers published for academic purposes are encouraged to pursue other options.
PLAGARISM
Submissions found to contain unacknowledged copying of text from another author will not be published.
REPUBLISHING ARTICLES
From time-to-time the APJ will republish articles which have appeared in other publications, with the permission of the publication and author(s).
WRITER’S BLOCK
It can sometimes be a daunting experience to write an article. APJ Assistant Editors work in partnership with authors to make the experience as easy as possible. If you are struggling with writing, or have an idea for an article but need some help in realising it, contact apj@apjl.com.au for help.
EDITING
All submissions are edited before publication. The purpose of editing is to improve the readability of the article and to ensure the APJ meets legal and other obligations. Articles are not published without the approval of the author.
Some authors find the editing process challenging however it is an essential part of the publishing process which applies to even the most high-profile professional authors.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
The APJ recognises that artificial intelligence (AI) is playing an increasingly central role in communications. For transparency purposes, the use of AI in the production of articles and images must be declared to the editorial team, when it is submitted.
LEGAL ISSUES
Authors must be mindful of laws that impact publications. This extends beyond civil laws relating to libel and slander, to criminal laws which prevent the identification of victims, offenders and certain facts. The APJ consults with lawyers before publishing articles that risk litigation, but it also relies on authors to bring potential concerns to the attention of editorial staff as soon as possible.
ONGOING COURT MATTERS
The APJ rarely publishes crime case articles on matters which are still before the criminal courts. Submissions relating to unsolved crimes are published from time-to-time, but only with the approval of investigating police.
PHOTOGRAPHS AND IMAGES
Photographs and images are an essential aspect of conveying a story and message. High resolution images (a resolution of 300 DPI or higher) are preferred.
PUBLISHING TIMELINES
The APJ is published quarterly – in March, June, September and December.
It can take several months and sometimes more than a year for an article to be accepted, edited and published.
Some submissions may be time-sensitive (eg: a unit’s reunion dinner or upcoming sporting event). In such cases the author needs to contact the APJ (apj@apjl.com.au) to determine if it is feasible to meet the deadline.
SUBMISSION PROCESS
Submissions will be considered by the Editorial Team. Preliminary feedback will be provided within a month of receiving the submission. Once a submission is accepted an Assistant Editor will work with the author to review and refine the document. This process includes obtaining the clearance of the relevant police agency for articles relating to contemporary investigations and/or departmental policies.
The final decision to publish, and which issue an article is published in, rests with the APJ Editor.
Click on any of the following case studies, which illustrate the different types of routine scenarios.
Erin is a sergeant who was the case officer for a homicide investigation which resulted in the offender being convicted and imprisoned. The matter has been finalised by the courts, with the offender’s appeal dismissed. The case had some interesting aspects and Erin feels it important to share those lessons.
After drafting an article, Erin emails it to the APJ. Soon afterwards an Assistant Editor contacts Erin. Together, they refine the draft and source relevant photographs. Other police who are either mentioned in the article or who are in photographs, are contacted to ensure they are okay to be mentioned/shown. Erin also confirms there are no suppression orders in existence regarding the case.
The final draft is submitted to Erin’s Superintendent (via her Inspector) for departmental clearance. After approval is given the article is scheduled for publication. When the article is laid-out for printing, it is sent back to Erin for her final review and clearance.
Toby is a police trainer who was involved in the design and introduction of a new approach to recruit training. With the active support of his supervisors, Toby starts to write an article for the APJ but finds it difficult to complete. He contacts the APJ and an Assistant Editor provides help, including writing parts of the article in Toby’s name (a process known as ‘ghost writing’). When completed, the article is cleared with Toby and his management before publication.
Darren’s late grandfather was a Tasmanian police officer. Using family recollections, diaries and contemporary newspaper reports, Darren pieces together a great but lengthy piece about his grandfather’s life.
Working with an APJ Assistant Editor, Darren writes a shorter piece focussed on his grandfather’s police career, and what policing was like in Tasmania in the 1960s. Because of the dated nature of the topic, clearance is not required from the Tasmania Police. The article is published with photographs from the family archive.
Jeanette plays a leadership role in a major organised crime investigation. The ‘resolution phase’ attracts widespread publicity and media interest. In subsequent months Jeanette is invited to give briefings on the case to senior police, fellow detectives and members of other police forces. Over time, Jeanette’s PowerPoint presentation and speaking notes are refined to the point they could easily be modified into a crime case article, so she contacts the APJ.
In this scenario the APJ would be keen to publish but only after all criminal trials and appeals are dealt with. The APJ and Jeanette would remain in periodic contact, with her final draft article submitted as soon as practicable after the appeals were finalised.
In this instance there is an enduring court suppression order regarding the naming of one of the offenders. The article would be written in such a way as to avoid the need to mention the person’s details.
Peter’s 20,000-word thesis in his post-graduate degree is an analysis of police/media relations since the mainstreaming of the internet. The thesis contains extensive comparative data analysis and evaluation of incidents through socio-political paradigms. It is an extremely relevant topic however in its current form it’s too long for the APJ.
Working with an Assistant Editor, Peter distils the key findings of his paper into an easily digestible 3000 words which include some case studies of actual incidents, to provide practical examples. While the hardcopy version of the article includes essential footnotes for the key quotes, the full bibliography is only printed in the online version. A mix of stock images and photos from actual events form part of the article.
PRIZES
Each year prizes are awarded by the editorial team to the authors of the best crime and educational articles. Each prize includes a small honorarium (currently $500 in both categories for first prize and $250 for second).
HOW TO SUBMIT
Consult the submission checklist before emailing your article to apj@apjl.com.au
ADVERTISING
The APJ does accept paid advertising for products that are conducive and consistent with the objectives of the APJ. The APJ Office Manager can be contacted on (02) 9285 3399 or at apj@apjl.com.au to discuss details and rates.
FURTHER QUESTIONS
If you have any further questions please contact the APJ at apj@apjl.com.au, or you can contact a member of the editorial team or a liaison officer. The contact details for these people are contained in each edition of the APJ.