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Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA): 2000 Annual Report on Drug Use Among Police Detainees, a report released by the Australian Institute of Criminology, shows that Bankstown and Parramatta sites have a higher prevalence of opiate use among males detained by police compared with East Perth and Southport. Figures also show that the percentage of male detainees testing positive to opiates in Southport and East Perth have remained relatively stable for two years.

A report released by the Australian Institute of Criminology, "Australian Deaths in Custody and Custody-related Police Operations, 2000", states that during 2000 there was a total of 91 deaths in all forms of custody in Australia. In 1999 there were 85 custodial deaths. In 2000 the majority of deaths occurred in prison custody with 64 deaths. Two deaths occurred in juvenile detention during this time. There was a total of 17 Indigenous deaths in custody in the year 2000-11 of those deaths occurred in prison custody, five in police custody and one death in a juvenile detention centre.

A report released by the Australian Institute of Criminology estimates that arrests are made in only 16 per cent of car theft cases. In 1998 there were 131,600 vehicles recorded stolen in Australia. In the same year approximately 21,000 offenders were charged with motor vehicle theft. Of adult offenders, one-fifth (n=3,254) were convicted of the offence and a further one-third (n=1,140) imprisoned. In other words, only one in every 90 incidents involving an adult offender resulted in a custodial sentence.

A report released by the Australian Institute of Criminology has evaluated a program for managing bullying in schools. The program focuses on conflict resolution as a way of minimising bullying and the harm it causes. The program encourages children's active participation in addressing bullying and teaches five steps (known as the REACT keys) for dealing with the problem. The students who participated (from Year 5 in an ACT government school) had their feelings of safety at school measured on a four-point scale before and after taking part in the program.

A report released by the Australian Institute of Criminology on anti-homosexual homicide is based on evidence from a study of 74 homicides with male victims that occurred in New South Wales between 1980 and 2000. The data show that the victims were generally older than the offenders. Most victims were middle-aged or older males, with a peak in the thirties or forties, while the bulk of assailants were young males aged under 25. These young assailants also tended to attack more often in packs.

The market in illicit antiquities operates globally and very profitably. It is also a market that takes advantage of poverty-stricken countries where people are willing to sell their heritage to survive, and legal loopholes in developed countries where the illicit antiquities are mainly bought. A report released by the Australian Institute of Criminology, "Regulating the Market in Illicit Antiquities", details some of the vulnerabilities to criminal activity in the antiquities market.

Until recently, there has been limited research that investigates children's life course of maltreatment and subsequent patterns of offending. A report released by the Australian Institute of Criminology reveals a direct path from child maltreatment to juvenile offending. The report focuses on the 41,700 children born in Queensland in 1983, and more specifically the 2,885 children that were reported to the Department of Families as maltreated. Various factors were identified to predict subsequent offending in maltreated children such as gender and Indigenous status.

The Australian Institute of Criminology's Facts and Figures 2002 publication shows that robbery has increased steadily since 1995. Police recorded 26,565 victims of robbery during 2001, a 14 per cent increase on the number recorded in 2000. Of the robberies recorded in 2001, 59 per cent were unarmed, and 41 per cent were armed. The number of both armed and unarmed robberies between 1995 and 2001 display correlated trends. Both peaked in March 2001, when there were 1,112 armed robberies and 1,572 unarmed robberies.

Although there has been international research on the reoffending of arson offenders, published data on alleged arsonists in Australia are limited to police statistics on arson charges. There is no published Australian research on the recidivism of arsonists or bushfire arsonists. This bulletin reports on 1,099 arson and 133 bushfire arson defendants who appeared in NSW courts between 2001 and 2006 ^(a). The typical NSW firesetter was male (89%), and young (mean age 27 years), this was the same for arsonists and bushfire arsonists.

The following new titles have been added to the growing collection of arson-related literature that can be found in the searchable bibliographic database. In addition to these titles, the database provides access to major bushfire arson news articles. Of the 10 titles listed, the last three are Australian.

Understanding why people commit antisocial acts is important for investigating offences and ensuring that perpetrators receive justice and treatment. There is an extensive literature considering the motives behind arson. While there are many different approaches to motives and classification of arson, and terminology can change between writers, taken as a whole the literature suggests the following common motives for arson:

Includes Criminology Research Council (CRC) Annual Report.

Note: The pagination does not exactly match the print version of this report.

Includes Criminology Research Council (CRC) Annual Report.

Includes Criminology Research Council (CRC) Annual Report.

The 26th annual report for the Australian Institute of Criminology was tabled 30 October 1998.