Foreword | This paper outlines the findings of a study that evaluated the processes of a Northern Territory Business Watch crime prevention program through a survey in 2002 of the members of a business association which managed the scheme. The results point to a severe lack of awareness about the program by association members, which in turn resulted in low levels of participation. In addition, members found it difficult to contribute sufficient time and resources to the scheme, and were largely unable to provide an assessment of the effectiveness of the program.
This paper presents an overview of some of the key emerging issues in Australian domestic and family violence (D/FV) research. In particular, the paper considers research in the context of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex (GLBTI) communities; among the elderly; those with disabilities and people from cultural and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds; family violence and Indigenous communities; the relevance of homelessness; the impact of D/FV on children; and issues around perpetrator programs.
Foreword | Current town planning and housing policies suggest that in the very near future, housing density in major Australian cities will be much higher than current levels. To date, little attention has been paid to how these policy shifts will impact levels of crime and fear of crime. The aim of this research is to contribute to the development of strategic policy for the secure management of high-density housing.
Foreword | Riots such as the Cronulla and Macquarie Fields occurrences and media reports of large numbers of individuals gatecrashing parties understandably raise community concern about the prevalence and causes of group violence. This is a difficult area to research as the number of events is typically low, although their impact can be high. There are also different forms of mass groupings of individuals with higher and lower levels of associated violence.
The National Crime and Safety Survey was conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in 1993, 1998, 2002 and 2005, as a mailback supplement to the April Labour Force Survey. According to the surveys, rates of household victimisation declined overall for break-in, attempted break-in, motor vehicle theft, and total household crime between 1993 and 2005.
Car theft is a major problem in Australia as the following statistics show. In 1987-1988, 120,305 vehicles were stolen Australia wide, and in 1988-89 this increased to 122,542. A large number of these vehicles were never recovered which would indicate that car theft has become a serious organised criminal activity.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics' Personal safety survey was conducted from August to December 2005, surveying a sample of approximately 16,400 women and men aged 18 years and over. The questionnaire focused on men's and women's self-reported experience of physical and sexual violence. Males were more likely to report being victims of physical assault and females were more likely to report being victims of sexual assault.
Public perception of the levels of crime are based on the various sources of statistics that provide this information. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) recently released a paper that compares crime victimisation statistics from a number of sources published in Australia. The prevalence rate of crime victimisation in Australia differs based on the methodology used for data collection. The General Social Survey is an interviewer based survey conducted by the ABS. This survey found that nine per cent of respondents were victims of assault.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics' publication Crime and Safety Australia presents findings from a household survey that collected data on the nature and extent of crime in the community. The publication includes information from individuals and households about their experience of selected crimes, as well as details regarding the most recent experience of crime such as whether it was reported to police.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics' annual publication Recorded crime, victims, Australia presents national crime statistics on victims of selected offences recorded by police. The figure below shows the trends in victims of armed and unarmed robbery between 1993 and 2005. Robbery is defined as the unlawful taking of property from the immediate possession of a person or organisation, accompanied by the use, or threatened use, of force. Armed robbery includes instances where a weapon was used, or its use threatened.
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.
The Criminology Research Act 1971 provides for a Criminology Research Advisory Council that advises the Director of the AIC on strategic research priorities for the AIC, communications and the effective dissemination of crime and criminal justice information and makes recommendations as to the grants to be made by the Director each year under the Criminology Research Grants program.
The Criminology Research Act 1971 (Cwth) provides that the Criminology Research Advisory Council is to consist of nine members, comprising a representative of the Commonwealth and of each state and territory. The Council is responsible for providing advice to the Director of the AIC on strategic priorities for research and priorities for communicating research results.
The Criminology Research Advisory Council is made up of the following members: