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Australian Crime : facts and figures 2003

Alleged offenders

The ABS does not yet publish offender data but is working towards developing an offender-based collection. Official data on gender and age of alleged offenders are published by the police services of Victoria, Queensland and South Australia and refer to the number of persons who have allegedly committed a criminal offence and who have been processed for that offence. Police statistics on alleged offenders are not available from the remaining states and territories.

This chapter presents data on alleged offenders classified according to gender and age. These data should be interpreted with great caution as they reflect police processing of offenders in only three states. The main purpose is to give an indicative view of major issues relating to offenders, in particular the following:

  • What is the age at which offender rates peak?
  • Is the age pattern of male offender rates similar or different from that of females?
  • Are female offender rates on the increase?

The number of alleged offenders does not equate to 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. Nor does it equate to the total number of crimes cleared during a given period, as one crime may involve more than one offender and many crimes go unsolved.

Throughout this chapter, the terms 'offender' and 'offender rate' refer to alleged offenders and the alleged offender rate.

The term 'total offender population' refers to the total number of (not necessarily distinct) individuals aged 10 years and over processed by police for any of the offences listed below in the states of Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. 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 over in these jurisdictions
(Reference 3).

The offender data included here are specific to 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 (theft from a vehicle, theft from shops, other theft); and
  • fraud and deception related crime
    Note: This is the first year data have been included on this offence. Data since 1995-1996 have been updated to include this offence.

Source:

  • Victoria Police 1992-2002, Victoria Police crime statistics (various issues), Victoria Police, Melbourne.
  • South Australia Police 1996, Statistical review 1995-96, SAPOL, Adelaide.
  • South Australia Police 2002, South Australia Police annual report 2001-2002, SAPOL, Adelaide.
  • Queensland Police Service 1992-2002, Queensland Police Service statistical review (various issues), Queensland Police Service, Brisbane. <http://www.police.qld.gov.au/services/reportsPublications/statisticalReview/default.htm>

Age

Persons (males and females) aged 15 to 19 years are most likely to be processed by police for the commission of a crime. In 2001-2002 the offending rate for persons aged 15 to 19 years was four times the offender rate for the remainder of the population (6,421 per 100,000 and 1,544 per 100,000 respectively).

Gender

In 2001-2002, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia processed a total of 175,822 offenders, of which 138,724 were males and 37,098 were females. Females made up 22% of all offenders in 1995-1996 and 21% in 2001-2002.

Males

Females

Juveniles

There are differences among the states in the definition of a juvenile. In Victoria and Queensland the definition includes persons aged between 10 and 16 years. In South Australia, however, a juvenile is a person aged between 10 and 17 years. In this section, for the purposes of maintaining comparability, the term 'juvenile offender' includes alleged offenders aged between 10 and 16 years.

In 2001-2002, juveniles accounted for one-fifth of the total offender population.

Specific offences

Gender-age patterns of offenders vary by offence type and over time.

While males account for the majority of offenders for each type of crime discussed in this section, the level of female involvement in crime has increased for some offences since 1995-1996.

The age structure of the offender population also differs according to gender. A larger percentage of female offenders are juvenile compared with male offenders.

Homicide

Approximately 5% of homicide offenders in 2001-2002 were juveniles and 15% were female. These figures have remained stable since 1995-1996.

Assault

Approximately 13% of assault offenders in 2001-2002 were juveniles, and 17% were female. Juveniles accounted for a higher percentage of female assault offenders (20%) as compared with males (11%).

Sexual assault

In 2001-2002, 98% of sexual assault offenders were male. Twelve per cent of the offender population were juveniles, a percentage that has increased since 1995-1996, from 8%.

Robbery

In 2001-2002, 12% of robbery offenders were female. Twenty-three per cent were juveniles, a percentage that has decreased from 31% since 1995-1996.

Motor vehicle theft

In 2001-2002, 28% of the offender population were juveniles, a percentage that has decreased from 36% since 1995-1996. Fourteen per cent of motor vehicle theft offenders were female, an increase from 9% in 1995-1996.

Unlawful entry with intent

Females accounted for 11% of UEWI offenders, an increase from 9% in 1995-1996. Juveniles accounted for 27% of UEWI offenders in 2001-2002, a decrease from 34% in 1995-1996. In 2001-2002, almost one in every two offenders involved with UEWI was under 20 years of age.

Other theft

Relative to the other major crimes included in this chapter, 'other theft' offences, such as shoplifting, had relatively high female involvement. In 2001-2002, 29% of offenders involved in this offence were female and 30% were juveniles.

Fraud and deception-related crime

Like other theft, fraud and deception-related crime has a relatively high female involvement (31%), as well as older offenders. In 2001-2002 approximately three in every five offenders were over 25 years of age. Juveniles accounted for less than 5% of total persons alleged to have committed fraud and deception-related crime.