Australian Institue of Criminology

Skip to content

Selected offender profiles

Section contents

The ABS does not yet publish offender data but is developing an offender-based collection. Until these new data become available, examination of offenders and some of their characteristics is possible only by compiling data from other sources. This chapter brings together information on offenders from two sources: police annual reports from the three jurisdictions that release offender statistics, and the AIC's Drug Use Monitoring in Australia program.

Alleged offenders

An alleged offender is a person who has allegedly committed a crime and has been processed for that offence by arrest, caution, or warrant of apprehension. Throughout this chapter, the terms 'offender' and 'offender rate' refer to alleged offenders and the alleged offender rate.

Official data on sex and age of alleged offenders are published by the police services of Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. Police statistics on alleged offenders are unavailable from the remaining states and territories.

This chapter presents data on alleged offenders classified according to sex and age. These data should be interpreted with caution, as they only reflect police processing of offenders in three states and may not be representative of national trends. They also do not reflect findings of guilt. The main purpose here is to give an indicative view of major issues relating to offenders, particularly the following:

  • At what age do offender rates peak?
  • How does the age pattern of male offenders compare with that of female ones?
  • Are female offender rates increasing?

The number of alleged offenders does not equal the number of distinct alleged offenders during a year, because police may take action against the same individual for several offences, or the individual may be processed on more than one occasion for the same offence type. Neither does it equate to the total number of crimes cleared during a given period, as one crime may involve more than one offender.

The term 'total offender population' refers to the total number of (not necessarily distinct) individuals aged 10 years or more in Victoria, Queensland and South Australia who have been processed by police for any of the offences listed below. The rates of total offenders included in the tables and graphs in this chapter are calculated relative to the total population aged 10 years and more in these jurisdictions (reference 2). The data are presented by financial year.

The offender data are for the following major types of crime:

  • homicide and related offences (murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, infanticide, and driving causing death)
  • assault
  • sexual assault
  • robbery
  • unlawful entry with intent
  • motor vehicle theft
  • other theft
  • fraud and deception-related crime.

Source: References 7–9

Age

Persons aged 15 to 19 years are more likely to be processed by police for the commission of a crime than are members of any other population group. In 2006–07, the offending rate for persons aged 15 to 19 years was four times the rate for offenders aged more than 19 years (5,735 and 1,305 respectively per 100,000).

Figure 43 Offenders from 1996–97 to 2006–07, by age (per 100,000 of that age per year)

Figure 43 Offenders from 1996–97 to 2006–07, by age (per 100,000 of that age per year)

Note: 'All' refers to all offenders aged 10 years or more

  • Offender rates have been consistently highest among persons aged 15–19 and lowest among those aged 25 and more.
  • Rates have declined from 1996–97 in all age groups except persons aged 25 years and older. The greatest decline occurred in the 15- to 19- and 20- to 24-year age groups, falling by a fifth in both groups.

Source: Reference 2and References 7–9

Sex

In 2006–07, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia processed a total of 164,025 alleged offenders, of whom 127,788 were male and 36,237 were female. Females made up 22 percent of all offenders in 2006–07, a proportion similar to that of previous years.

Figure 44 Offenders from 1996–97 to 2006–07, by sex (per 100,000 of that sex per year)

Figure 44 Offenders from 1996–97 to 2006–07, by sex (per 100,000 of that sex per year)

  • Between 1996–97 and 2006–07, males were three to four times as likely as females to be identified as offenders. In 2006–07, the male offender rate per 100,000 was 2,699; the female one, 747.
  • Offender rates for both males and females reached a peak in 2000–01. Since then, rates have declined by 26 percent for males and 29 percent for females.

Source: Reference 2and References 7–9

 
Males
Figure 45 Male offenders from 1996–97 to 2006–07, by age (per 100,000 males of that age per year)

Figure 45 Male offenders from 1996–97 to 2006–07, by age (per 100,000 males of that age per year)

Note: 'All' refers to all male offenders aged 10 years or more

  • In 2006–07, the offender rate per 100,000 males aged 15 to 19 was 8,800, following a peak of 13,087 in 1999–2000. Male offender rates have consistently been highest in the 15- to 19- year age group.
  • Male rates were also high during this period in the 20- to 24-year age group, ranging between 5,300 and 9,200 per 100,000.
  • Since 1999–2000, offender rates of males in the 10- to 14-, 15- to 19-, and 20- to 24-year age groups have decreased by a quarter or more.

Source: Reference 2and References 7–9

Figure 46 Male offenders in 1996–97 and 2006–07, by offence type (per 100,000 males per year)

Figure 46 Male offenders in 1996–97 and 2006–07, by offence type (per 100,000 males per year)

  • In 1996–97 and 2006–07, male offender rates were highest for the offences of other theft, assault, and unlawful entry with intent.
  • Rates were lowest in both years for robbery, sexual assault, and homicide.
  • Male offender rates in 2006–07 were higher than in 1996–97 for all violent crimes except homicide (i.e. for assault, robbery, and sexual assault), and lower for all property crimes and fraud/deception.

Source: Reference 2and References 7–9

Females
Figure 47 Female offenders from 1996–97 to 2006–07, by age group (per 100,000 females of that age group per year)

Figure 47 Female offenders from 1996–97 to 2006–07, by age group (per 100,000 females of that age group per year)

Note: 'All' refers to all female offenders aged 10 years and older

  • Similarly to male offender rates, female offender rates since 1996–97 have been consistently highest in the 15- to 19-year age group.
  • In all age groups, the female offender rate peaked in the period 1999–2001, followed by a general decline. Offender rates began to increase again in the last two years in the 10- to 14- and 15- to 19-year age groups.

Source: Reference 2and References 7–9

Figure 48 Female offenders in 1996–97 and 2006–07, by offence type (per 100,000 females per year)

Figure 48 Female offenders in 1996–97 and 2006–07, by offence type (per 100,000 females per year)

  • Female offender rates were highest for other theft, fraud/deception, and assault in both 1996–97 and 2006–07, and lowest for robbery, homicide (fewer than two per 100,000), and sexual assault (fewer than one per 100,000).

Source: Reference 2and References 7–9

Juveniles

Figure 49 Juvenile and adult offenders from 1996–97 to 2006–07, by age group (per 100,000 of that age group per year)

Figure 49 Juvenile and adult offenders from 1996–97 to 2006–07, by age group (per 100,000 of that age group per year)

  • Juvenile offender rates have generally been twice as high as adult ones.
  • The offender rate of juveniles decreased from 1996–97 to 2003–04, from 3,965 to 3,023 per 100,000 per year. It increased in 2005–06, and again in 2006–07, to 3,532 per 100,000.
  • The adult offender rate peaked in 2000–01, at 2,100 per 100,000. In 2006–07, it was 1,492 per 100,000, the lowest rate recorded.

Source: Reference 2and References 7–9

Figure 50 Juvenile offenders from 1996–97 to 2006–07, by sex (per 100,000 juveniles of that sex per year)

Figure 50 Juvenile offenders from 1996–97 to 2006–07, by sex (per 100,000 juveniles of that sex per year)

  • Offender rates have declined since 1996–97 by 17 percent in juvenile males but have increased by 14 percent in juvenile females.
  • Female juvenile offenders comprised 21 to 24 percent of all juvenile offenders in any given year from 1996–97 to 2006–07.

Source: Reference 2and References 7–9

Figure 51 Juvenile offenders in 1996–97 and 2006–07, by offence type (per 100,000 juveniles per year)

Figure 51 Juvenile offenders in 1996–97 and 2006–07, by offence type (per 100,000 juveniles per year)

  • Juvenile offender rates for assault rose by 48 percent from 1996–97 to 2006–07.
  • Juvenile offender rates decreased for most other offences. The largest decreases were recorded for fraud and deception offences (38%) and UEWI (21%).

Source: Reference 2and References 7–9

 

Drug use by offenders

Police detainees

The AIC's Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA) program monitors illicit drug use by police detainees in several sites around Australia on a quarterly basis. DUMA provides a reasonable and independent indicator of drug-related crime at these locations. Two methods are used to obtain the information: questionnaire and urine sample.

By 2007, 10 sites were being monitored: East Perth, in Western Australia; Southport and Brisbane City, in Queensland; Bankstown and Parramatta, in New South Wales; Adelaide City and Elizabeth, in South Australia; Darwin and Alice Springs, in the Northern Territory; and Footscray, in Victoria. Brisbane City, Adelaide City and Elizabeth began participating in 2002; Darwin and Footscray in 2006; and Alice Springs in 2007.

Data are collected quarterly and presented in the following figures as annual averages. Data are presented here on males only, as they represent the majority (more than 80%) of police detainees in the DUMA collection.

The 10 sites differed in the percentage of police detainees testing positive to each of methylamphetamine, cocaine, cannabis, and heroin.

Source: References 20

Figure 52 Adult male police detainees testing positive to cannabis, from 1999 to 2007, by DUMA location (percent)

Figure 52 Adult male police detainees testing positive to cannabis, from 1999 to 2007, by DUMA location (percent)

  • The proportion of adult male detainees testing positive to cannabis in 2007 ranged from 41 percent (Bankstown) to 73 percent (Darwin).
  • Since 2004, most sites have registered a decrease in the percentage of detainees testing positive to cannabis.

Source: References 20

Figure 53 Adult male police detainees testing positive to methylamphetamine, from 1999 to 2007, by DUMA location (percent)

Figure 53 Adult male police detainees testing positive to methylamphetamine, from 1999 to 2007, by DUMA location (percent)

  • The proportion of adult male detainees testing positive to methylamphetamine in 2007 ranged from seven percent (Darwin) to 32 percent (Elizabeth). No detainees tested positive to methylamphetamine at Alice Springs.
  • Methylamphetamine use increased at all long-term sites from 1999 to 2003. It has continued to increase at the Sydney sites but has followed a general decline at East Perth and Southport after 2003.
  • Brisbane and Adelaide have also recorded a decrease in methylamphetamine use after 2003, but the proportion of detainees testing positive to it in Elizabeth has remained relatively stable.
  • Methylamphetamine use by police detainees has been consistently higher in East Perth and the South Australian sites, and lower in the Sydney sites.

Source: References 20

Figure 54 Adult male police detainees testing positive to heroin, from 1999 to 2007, by DUMA location (percent)

Figure 54 Adult male police detainees testing positive to heroin, from 1999 to 2007, by DUMA location (percent)

  • Most sites have registered either a decline or remained relatively stable in heroin use. The proportion of adult male detainees testing positive to heroin in 2007 ranged from one percent (Darwin and Alice Springs) to 13 percent (Parramatta and Brisbane).
  • In 2007, more than half the detainees at the Footscray site tested positive to heroin.

Source: References 20

Figure 55 Adult male police detainees testing positive to cocaine, from 1999 to 2007, by DUMA location (percent)

Figure 55 Adult male police detainees testing positive to cocaine, from 1999 to 2007, by DUMA location (percent)

Note: The scale for this chart is different from that of other charts as the percentages involved are relatively small

  • The proportion of adult male detainees testing positive to cocaine is very low at all sites, but consistently higher at Bankstown and Parramatta than at the other sites.
  • Cocaine use has fluctuated at the two Sydney sites, the greatest proportion of detainees there testing positive in 2001.

Source: References 20

Figure 56 Adult male police detainees' positive testing to a druga, from 1999 to 2007, by DUMA location (percent)

Figure 56 Adult male police detainees' positive testing to a drug, from 1999 to 2007, by DUMA location (percent)

a: A drug is defined as cannabis, heroin, methylamphetamine, cocaine, or benzodiazepines

  • Sites routinely show around 60 to 80 percent of adult male detainees testing positive to a drug. Since 2001, the proportion of detainees at Bankstown testing positive to a drug has been 60 percent or less.
  • At most other sites, the percentage of adult male detainees testing positive to a drug has remained steady or decreased since monitoring at the site began.
  • Before 2007, the proportion of adult male detainees testing positive to a drug was consistently highest at the Adelaide and Elizabeth sites.

Source: References 20

Figure 57 Adult male police detainees testing positive to selected drugs, at four long-term sitesa, from 1999 to 2007 (percent)

Figure 57 Adult male police detainees testing positive to selected drugs, at four long-term sites, from 1999 to 2007 (percent)

a: Bankstown, Parramatta, East Perth, Southport

  • From 1999 to 2007, the percentage of adult male detainees testing positive to any drug and the percentage testing positive to cannabis have remained relatively steady.
  • The proportion of adult male detainees using heroin has decreased over the period. Most of this decrease occurred between 2000 and 2001.
  • The proportion of adult male detainees using methylamphetamine and that of those using cocaine increased until 2001 and have since levelled off.

Source: References 20

Figure 58 Adult male police detainees testing positive to a drug in 2007, by type of charge for most serious offence (percent of those with that type of charge)

Figure 58 Adult male police detainees testing positive to a drug in 2007, by type of charge for most serious offence (percent of those with that type of charge)

a: Methylamphetamine

b: Benzodiazepines

  • Adult male detainees charged with a property offence as their most serious offence were more likely to test positive to drugs (especially to methylamphetamine or heroin) than were detainees charged with violent offences as their most serious offence.
  • Seventy-four percent of all adult male detainees charged with property offences as their most serious offence and 60 percent of those charged with violent offences tested positive to a drug.

Source: References 20

Characteristics of police detainees

 
Figure 59 Age-group and sex distribution of adult police detainees in 2007 (percent)

Figure 59 Age-group and sex distribution of adult police detainees in 2007 (percent)

  • More than one-quarter of male and of female adult detainees were aged 36 or more. Another 21 percent of males and 24 percent of females were aged 21 to 25.
  • There was little difference between the sexes in the proportion of detainees in each age group.

Source: References 21

Figure 60 Education level of adult police detainees in 2007 (percent)

Figure 60 Education level of adult police detainees in 2007 (percent)

  • Forty-seven percent of male and 42 percent of female detainees had not completed beyond year 10 education. One-fifth of males and 24 percent of females had completed year 11 or 12.
  • Eighteen percent of adult male detainees had completed a TAFE qualification, and five percent had completed a university qualification.
  • A similar proportion of adult female detainees had completed a TAFE (16%) or university qualification (5%).

Source: References 21

Figures 61 and 62 refer to the same question on source of income and add up to 100 percent for each sex.

Figure 61 Type of non-crime generated main source of income of adult police detainees in 2007 in 30 days before arrest, by sex (percent)

Figure 61 Type of non-crime generated main source of income of adult police detainees in 2007 in 30 days before arrest, by sex (percent)

  • One-third (32%) of adult male detainees and almost half the adult female detainees (47%) received a welfare or government benefit as their main source of income.
  • Adult male detainees' next most common income source was a full-time job (21%), followed by money obtained from friends and family (17%).
  • Adult female detainees' next most common sources of income were family or friends (19%) and a part-time job (10%).

Source: References 21

Figure 62 Type of crime-generateda main source of income of adult police detainees in 2007 in past 30 days before arrest, by sex (percent)

Figure 62 Type of crime-generateda main source of income of adult police detainees in 2007 in past 30 days before arrest, by sex (percent)

a: Sex work is decriminalised in some states and territories

  • Twelve percent of adult male detainees and 17 percent of adult female detainees obtained their income from criminal activity.
  • Drug dealing and other drug-related crimes were reported by five percent of male detainees as their main source of income, and shoplifting by three percent.
  • Six percent of female detainees relied on shoplifting as their main source of income; four percent, on drug dealing and drug-related crimes; and three percent, on sex work.

Source: References 21

Figure 63 Previous experience of homelessness, arrest and imprisonment, and mental illness, of adult police detainees in 2007 (percent)

Figure 63 Previous experience of homelessness, arrest and imprisonment, and mental illness, of adult police detainees in 2007 (percent)

  • More than half of adult male (53%) and of adult female (52%) detainees had been arrested in the 12 months before their current arrest. Adult male detainees were more likely (19%) than adult female detainees (14%) to have spent time in prison in the previous 12 months.
  • Adult female detainees (24%) were more likely than adult male detainees (15%) to have ever been admitted to a psychiatric unit.
  • The proportions are similar of adult male and female detainees (6% and 5% respectively) who experienced homelessness in the month before their arrest, either living on the street or having no fixed address.

Source: References 21

Most serious offence

 
Table 7 Most serious offence of adult male police detainees from 2003 to 2007 (percent)
20032004200520062007
Violent offences 26 26 25 28 27
Property offences 31 28 24 23 21
Drug offences 6 7 7 7 7
Drink-driving offences 5 6 4 5 6
Traffic offences 10 9 12 9 9
Disorder offences 6 6 6 7 6
Breaches 14 15 18 17 19
Other offences 3 4 4 5 5
Table 8 Most serious offence of adult female police detainees from 2003 to 2007 (percent)
20032004200520062007
Violent offences 16 17 18 20 20
Property offences 47 41 37 37 35
Drug offences 7 7 7 7 9
Drink-driving offences 2 3 3 2 4
Traffic offences 7 8 10 10 6
Disorder offences 7 6 7 5 7
Breaches 12 13 13 13 16
Other offences 3 6 5 5 3
  • From 2003 to 2005, the most serious offence committed by adult male detainees was most commonly a property offence, but in 2006 and 2007 it was most commonly a violent one.
  • The most serious offence committed by adult female detainees in each of the five years 2003 to 2007 was most commonly a property offence. Adult female detainees were two to three times as likely to have been detained for a property offence as for a violent offence.
  • Since 2003, the proportion of adult female detainees whose most serious offence was a violent one increased from 16 percent to 20 percent. The proportion whose most serious offence was a property one decreased from 47 percent to 35 percent in the same period.
  • There has been a decrease in the proportion of adult male detainees whose most serious offence was a property offence, from 31 percent to 21 percent.

Source: References 21