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Annual report 2005/06

Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2006
ISSN 0311-449X

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The year in review

This has been a successful year with the Institute performing well on a range of key indicators. In particular we have released a number of influential publications, achieved our highest earnings from external revenue, continued to effectively disseminate relevant information and forged close working relationships with key partners. The agency continues to produce research that informs policy in a cost effective and efficient manner.

Both nationally and internationally our work on the criminal justice system is highly regarded, particularly by policy officers and practitioners who rely on our publications to provide them with timely, authoritative and clear summaries of key research findings. Two specific research projects that highlight the relevance and impact of our work were our evaluation of a drug court pilot for the Queensland Department of Justice and an experimental assessment of the impact of CCTV and taped evidence on jury deliberations in adult sexual assault cases for the Attorney General's Department of New South Wales.

The Criminology Research Act 1971 requires the Institute to undertake research which will assist all levels of government. These two projects are examples of the high value accorded by the states and territories to the Institute's independent research, particularly the quality and timeliness of the work. The findings from both projects have had direct impacts on policy formation and development not only within their own jurisdictions, but also nationally.

As a direct result of an earlier pilot project that demonstrated the value of firearms theft monitoring, the Minister provided additional funding for a program in this area. As a significant policy concern for all jurisdictions this program will ensure that an investment is made in the collection of consistent data over the long term. Unlike many other fields such as economics and health there are no national long term datasets in the criminal justice sector. It is essential to invest in such basic infrastructure to better understand both our current criminal justice environment and how that environment is changing.

The Institute could not undertake this work without a significant in kind contribution from the states and territories; and this applies to well over 80 percent of the Institute's work. Such cooperation is due to a number of interrelated factors including the facilitative and supportive role of the Board of Management with its state and territory representation, the hard work of AIC staff in building collaborative and trusting relations with key stakeholders, and the Institute's role as a national independent agency that has judiciously sought to build a research infrastructure and analytical base for policy development and reform in the criminal justice system.

The Institute has published throughout the year in a range of key areas - illicit drugs and alcohol, sexual assault, high tech crime, and violent crime - and focused on some key groups such as juveniles, women and Indigenous people. The Institute has for many years monitored deaths in custody and noted the high rate of incarceration among Indigenous people. With financial support from the National Drug Law Enforcement Fund a major study of illicit drugs in Indigenous communities in regional Australia was finalised during the year. This study represented a cooperative arrangement between the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies and the Institute. A second example of cooperative arrangements at the national level was the statistical support that the Institute provided to the Australian Law Reform Commission's sentencing review of federal offenders. These analyses are the most comprehensive of federal offenders conducted to date.

An important aspect of the Institute's work is to effectively disseminate its findings. This is accomplished in print format through various publications, electronically via our website, email alerts and information fact sheets, and in person through conferences and roundtables. The Institute consistently receives unsolicited positive feedback on its published papers and fact sheets.

Dissemination is also achieved through working closely with policy makers to build their knowledge of the evidence that exists or is newly emerging in the field. Throughout the year the Institute has worked closely with the Attorney-General's National Community Crime Prevention Programme, including conducting workshops to assist the nongovernmental sector in applying for community grants for crime prevention activity. This year we have embarked on two exciting web based projects to bring research to policy makers and practitioners in two key areas - crime prevention and Indigenous justice. These projects will actively involve policy makers, practitioners and researchers in building a central web based portal for accessible information.

A significant proportion of the Institute's budget comes from contract work - 35 percent this year. Managing contract work is challenging. It requires the Institute to be competitive with other providers (both the private sector and universities) particularly in effective and efficient contract management and corporate governance. Contract work also necessitates a highly flexible and skilled workforce. Throughout the year we have found it challenging to secure staff with the highly specialised skills required in a research agency like the Institute. We do not see this abating in the short term.

For the Institute to continue to deliver on its key performance indicators, two fundamental prerequisites will need to be maintained - continuing positive cooperation from states and territories that have primary responsibility for, and control of, crime and justice information, and a governance and financial regulatory environment that does not make the Institute uncompetitive in the contract market for research services.

I would like to thank staff and the Board of Management for their hard work throughout the year which was affirmed by the Minister's assessment that our performance had met his expectations. I look forward to working with the Board, staff, the Attorney-General's Department and the Minister to ensure that the Institute delivers against its agreed key performance indicators in the next 12 months.

Toni Makkai
Director