Homicides which involve the use of fire are believed to be quite rare, although cases such as the Childers Backpacker Hostel fire in 2000 in which 15 people died, serve to focus attention on the crime. When associated with homicide, fire may be the weapon used to commit the homicide, or may be involved after the homicide. Fire that is used post-mortem may be intended to conceal the homicide, destroy evidence, dispose of the body or prevent identification of the victim.
Foreword | People who have been victimised by interpersonal violence have an increased risk of mental illness, and associated hospitalisation costs burden the Australian population. A paucity of data makes it difficult to develop appropriate preventative initiatives. This paper outlines a population-based study in Western Australia investigating mental illness in hospitalised victims due to interpersonal violence. Groups at risk of interpersonal violence include young people between 20 and 29 years old and Indigenous females.
In the aftermath of highly publicised terrorist attacks, since 2001 terrorism has emerged as a key concern for police and the community, according to a three-year Victorian study on counter-terrorism policing and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities (Pickering et al. 2007). People from CALD or distinct religious backgrounds are often the focus of counter-terrorism strategies. The study showed that the attention paid to CALD communities can make them feel vulnerable to increased police attention.
The Australian Productivity Commission has calculated that between 2001–02 and 2006–07, the number bushfires in Australia varied from approximately 46,000 to 62,000 per year, with an average of nearly 54,000 fires per year (SGRSP 2008). This agrees quite closely with the average of nearly 52,000 fires per year calculated by the Australian Institute of Criminology (Bryant 2008) using data from fire agencies from 1995–06 to 2005–06. It is estimated that 50 percent of fires are either deliberately lit or suspicious in origin as shown in Figure 1.
Loss of life and serious injury. It has been calculated that 552 people have perished in bushfires in the past century (Haynes et al 2008) making it one of the leading causes of deaths from disasters. More people are injured from bushfires than all other natural disasters combined (AIC 2004).
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ISSN 1034-6627
Vol. 1 No. 1 March 1990 - Vol. 5 No. 6 February 1995
This Information Bulletin is produced by staff of the Institute's JV Barry Library.