Search

Contents

• Acknowledgements
• Preface
• Executive summary
• Introduction
• Background
• Methods
• Findings
• Discussion
• References

Foreword | Crime prevention work, both in Australia and overseas, has long been distinctive for its strong commitment to the use of "whole of government" approaches to the development of policies and the implementation of programs. Whole of government approaches are built on the assumption that because we know the causes of crime are complex and multifaceted, then preventive responses will be more effective if we combine the efforts of all the relevant government agencies (and community and business groups) into a single coordinated strategy.

Foreword | An overview of key trends in juvenile detention in Australia since 1981 is provided in this paper, based on data contained in the Australian Institute of Criminology’s Juveniles in Detention in Australia Monitoring Program database. In addition, two key trends in juvenile detention in Australia are discussed.

Foreword | In their Trends and Issues paper, "Red Flags of Fraud", Grabosky and Duffield (2001) identified a number of warning signals for fraud, or anomalies. While the existence of anomalies is not always indicative of criminality, they do signify heightened risks that should be investigated further.

The Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC), in partnership with the Attorney-General the Hon Mark Dreyfus KC MP and state and territory police commissioners, has awarded 9 projects with an Australian Crime and Violence Prevention Award (ACVPA).

The ACVPAs recognise best practice in the prevention or reduction of violence and other types of crime in Australia and play a vital role in highlighting effective community-based initiatives to prevent crime and violence before it occurs.

Foreword | A multifaceted strategy is required to effectively combat organised crime. A key element of preventing and responding to organised criminal activity is to target how individuals become involved in illicit activities and to develop effective methods of preventing their recruitment.

Reducing the rate of self-inflicted deaths in prison has long been a priority for correctional agencies across Australia and internationally. The rate of self-inflicted deaths in the prison population greatly exceeds that of self-inflicted deaths in the community; prisoners represent a particularly vulnerable and high-risk group for suicide. This paper updates Dalton’s (1999) national overview of self-inflicted deaths, which analysed data from the Australian Institute of Criminology’s (AIC) National Deaths in Custody Program (NDICP) for the period 1980–1998.

Foreword | While it has been established that there is an intergenerational transmission of criminal behaviour (ie crime can run through generations in families), the role of gender in the intergenerational transfer of criminality has not been fully explored. The impact of a father’s criminality on the subsequent offending of his sons and grandsons has been established, but the impact of a father's criminality on the offending of his daughter and the impact of a mother's criminal history on the offending of her sons and/or daughters is less clear.

Foreword | The Australian Institute of Criminology has spent a number of years working with crime prevention agencies across Australia reviewing large-scale programs that involve the delivery of varying activities directed at the prevention of crime. Taken as a whole, this experience has shown that, despite good intentions and aspirations to evidence-based practice, both the level and quality of evaluations have been limited by several practical challenges.

Foreword | Australia's immigration rate is among the highest in the world. Migrants face special challenges integrating into a new country, especially if their language, skin colour, religion or cultural practices set them apart from mainstream society. To assess the experiences of crime among migrants, the Australian component of the 2004 International Crime Victimisation Survey oversampled migrants who were born or whose parents were born in Vietnam or the Middle East.

Sport is a basic feature of Australian culture. The achievements of Australian athletes have enhanced our image as a nation. Participation in sporting activities contributes to the health of millions of Australians; the teamwork and fair play which Australians learn on the playing field provide the basis for a good society.

Foreword | In 2003, 1,821 males and 5,669 females aged under 15 years were recorded by police as victims of sexual assault but we know from crime victim surveys that sexual assault is the crime least likely to be reported to the police. We also know from research that adult sex offenders and victims are significantly more likely to have suffered abuse as children. A significant proportion of this abuse occurs within the family by intra-familial offenders.