Australian crime : facts and figures 2000

ISBN 0 642 24219 4
Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2001

This compendium of the most recent available national information on crime in Australia is intended to serve as a ready reference. The number of different types of recorded crimes, their place of occurrence, victim details, responses of criminal justice agencies, and government resources directed to deal with crime are covered. A new addition this year is results from the 2000 International Crime Victims Survey, which is presented in Part 1 as 'Volume of crime'.

While the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) has been collecting data for the past 27 years, it is only since 1993 that Australia has had comparative statistics on recorded crimes for some major crimes, and only since 1996 that a limited set of statistics on cases/defendants processed in courts has become available.

It must be noted that crimes recorded by the police do not reflect the true level of crime in Australia. Crime and safety surveys in Australia and crime victims surveys from overseas clearly show that only about 40% of crimes are reported to the police by the victims. Crime and the administration of justice are the responsibility of each State and Territory Government and their agencies publish State or Territory-based reports. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) attempts to provide a national picture and in recent years has produced a number of reports on crime-related issues. The data here comprise national figures only, with some minor exceptions. Should readers want State-based data they should visit the AIC web site or contact the Institute.

The AIC prepares materials containing the latest data on crime and justice issues and produces a number of publications on a wide range of issues. Further information may be obtained by contacting the Institute.

Adam Graycar

Director

March 2001