Search

New crimes and old crimes committed in new ways

The rapidly expanding capabilities of information and communications technologies (ICT) have created new crimes and new ways to commit old crimes. Criminal threats include: computer intrusions, distributed denial of service attacks, malware (the insertion of malicious software code into a computer), stealing ICT services, online child pornography and the misuse of email. This brief examines some of the terminology and sets out a definitional framework for measuring and analysing high tech crime.

Every year the Report on government services (SCPGS) provides data on perceptions of crime within the community. People are asked one question about which crimes they believe to be a problem or somewhat of a problem in their state or territory, and a second question about perceived crime levels in their local neighbourhood. The figure below shows the percentage who identified illicit drugs, property crimes and violent crimes as a problem over the past five years.

The way in which crime is recorded varies across jurisdictions and over time, so comparing crime rates between countries (and, sometimes, within a country) is not necessarily an accurate indicator of differences in actual levels of crime in those countries. Similarly, crime rate trend data in a single jurisdiction are not necessarily reflective of trends in actual levels of crime. Changes in rates of recorded crime may be the result of changes in the way crime data are collected, or changes in the proportion of victims reporting criminal offences to police.

Report to the Commonwealth Department of Employment, Education and Training, Youth Bureau, July 1989.

Note: The attached PDF does not include the Appendices. Appendix C is available in html (See below).

Foreword | There is a lack of international and Australian research about offenders who have been convicted of human trafficking, slavery and slave-like practices. In Australia, 15 offenders have been convicted of such crimes. The publicly available court judgments about these offenders contain invaluable information about the characteristics and motivations of offenders, the intersection of trafficking offending with other forms of criminality and the common methods offenders use to control and exploit their victims.

The Australian Institute of Criminology has released a report titled "Approaching Organised Crime: Where Are We Now and Where Are We Going?" which discusses the concepts of organised crime and transnational crime. It outlines aspects of organised crime such as environmental influences (geo-political circumstances, socio-historical situations, economic opportunities, legislative constraints and/or antecedent organised criminal activity), groups and processes, as well as the impact that organised crime has (namely social, political, economic and environmental).

Proceedings of a seminar held 24-25 November 1987

Contents

• Overview
  
  Dennis Challinger
• Opening address
  
  Duncan Chappell
• Crime prevention in England: themes and issues
  
  Paul Ekblom
• Public telephone vandalism
  
  Bill Jamieson
• Preventing criminal damage to schools
  
  John Allsopp

Neighbourhood Watch: a discussion

• Issues and policy implications
  
  Paul Wilson and Satyanshu Mukherjee
• Neighbourhood Watch in America
  
  Chris Coster

Contents

• Acknowledgements
• Acronyms
• Executive summary
• Introduction
• Measuring alcohol-related crime: An overview of research, policy and practice
• Police information systems and the recording of alcohol involvement in crime
• Other indicators of alcohol involvement in crime
• Measuring alcohol-related crime: Conceptual, definitional and practical considerations
• Towards national measures of alcohol-related crime
• Conclusion
• References
• Appendix A: Interview schedule

Foreword | Closed circuit television‘s (CCTV) popularity as a solution to local crime problems continues to gain traction. Its broad community support and visibility as a tangible response to crime problems suggests that the demand for CCTV is unlikely to abate. However, many agencies have difficulty locating information on the practical considerations for implementing a CCTV system and only become aware of the real cost of CCTV after installing the system. Therefore, measures need to be taken to ensure knowledge of good practice in CCTV implementation is shared.

Introduction

Foreword | Statistics consistently highlight a higher prevalence of the use of amphetamines in Western Australia compared with other Australian drug markets. It is the third most commonly used drug in Western Australia behind cannabis and ecstasy.

Using data collected by Drugs Use Monitoring Australia (DUMA) program at the East Perth watch-house, researchers from Edith Cowan University explore the relationship between amphetamine use and the crimes committed by detainees who have used this drug.

A national farm crime survey in 2003 found that 17 percent of farms experienced farm crime at least once in the previous 12 months (Anderson & McCall 2005). From the sample who replied, farm crime was estimated to cost the Australian economy at least $70 million annually. Highly accessible farms close to regional or urban centres were more likely to experience theft of farm machinery, vehicles or tools, or burglary, whereas very remote farms experienced the highest levels of livestock theft, illegal hunting and fishing, theft of materials, and illegal dumping of waste.

Foreword | While opportunistic crime in Australia's fishing industry has existed for a long time, there is increasing and widespread concern about the extent and scope of illegal activity. High-value, low-volume fish products (such as abalone, shark fin and seahorse) are vulnerable to organised criminal exploitation. Without adequate controls, the viability of stocks (and the industry itself) may be placed in jeopardy.