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The 11th annual Australian Crime and Violence Prevention Awards were announced in Canberra on 24 October 2002. The Awards recognise outstanding projects contributing to the prevention or reduction of violence in Australia. This year, for the first time, the awards also recognised projects dealing with the prevention or reduction of crime in general. Four projects received monetary awards of $10,000, five projects received $5000, three projects received $3000; two projects received a combined award of $3000 and twenty seven projects were awarded $2,000.

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.

It is estimated that there are approximately 25,000 licence-holding private agents in Australia. In a study recently published by the Australian Institute of Criminology, an attempt was made to gauge the nature of their involvement with law enforcement. Interviewees claimed that they were able to obtain concrete evidence in 70 to 90 per cent of the cases they investigated. The most pertinent legal and ethical issue faced by private investigators related to breaches of privacy. This included physical trespassing, along with gaining sensitive information about people.

Currently, there is no empirical work in Australia to allow us to determine the number of gangs or the number of gang members. A paper published recently by the Australian Institute of Criminology examines some of the complex issues surrounding youth gangs in Australia. It considers what gangs are, what sorts of behaviour they engage in, how they are structured, how they change over time, and how they form and disappear. International research has increasingly emphasised that gang formation is a social process involving complex forms of membership, transformation and disintegration.

In November 2002, the Australian Institute of Criminology released its annual Facts and Figures publication, a quick reference booklet that details the major crime statistics for the preceding year. The statistics on violent crime include homicide, assault, sexual assault and robbery. Rates of violent crime in 2001 were higher than in previous years. The rate of assault has increased steadily from 563 victims per 100,000 people in 1995 to 779 per 100,000 people in 2001. In 2001 the rate of robberies reached 136 per 100,000 people which is the highest recorded since 1995.

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.

A report recently released from the Australian Institute of Criminology shows that many crimes which are committed against small retail businesses go unreported to police. Results from a survey completed by 3,834 business proprietors revealed that reporting practices differed markedly, depending on both the type of crime and whether it was attempted or completed. While almost all burglaries and robberies were reported to police, very few incidents of shoplifting, employee theft and cheque/credit card fraud were reported.

The Australian Institute of Criminology releases annually the Composition of Australia's Police Services report which details the number of police service employees in Australia - both sworn and public service personnel - by rank and gender. In June 2002, there were 46,369 sworn police officers in Australia. This equates to a rate of 240.4 police officers per 100,000 population, an increase from 231.7 (3.6%) in 2001. The highest rate of police officers was in the Northern Territory with 468.8 per 100,000 population, a decrease from 498.5 (6.3%) in 2001.

Developments in computing and communications technologies have created many new opportunities for people to act illegally. A paper released by the Australian Institute of Criminology, "e-Crime Solutions and Crime Displacement", seeks to apply theories of crime displacement in the context of electronic crime by considering the possible counterproductive effects that electronic crime reduction techniques might have.

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.

The following typology of deliberately lit bushfires has been developed after consideration of the overall literature. While further empirical research with bushfire arson data and offenders will be needed, this typology presents a starting point for further work and a basis for understanding why people light bushfires.

1. Bushfires lit to create excitement or relieve boredom

   Vandalism - fires are lit by individuals or groups;

Psychopathology, or the manifestation of a mental or behavioural disorder, can be a factor in many cases of arson. Psychopathologic firesetting may be motiveless, where the person acts in a psychotic state or in response to delusions or other manifestations of a psychiatric disorder such as schizophrenia. In other cases there may be a motive such as revenge or the desire for attention which is influenced by a personality disorder. Deficits in judgment and reasoning resulting from an intellectual disability may lead to a person lighting a fire without fully appreciating the consequences.

Pyromania is a term that often arises when bushfire arson is discussed - whether in the media, among members of the public or between those involved with tackling bushfires. Deliberately lit bushfires are often attributed to the work of pyromaniacs. Studies have shown that there is a great deal of misunderstanding among investigators and law enforcement officers about what pyromania really means. The term is used loosely by the media and the public, and is often meant as a shorthand label for any kind of malicious and apparently senseless firesetting.

A personality disorder is a persistent pattern of inner experience and behaviour that differs markedly from the expectations of the individual's culture, is pervasive and inflexible, and leads to distress or impairment. Sufferers may show inappropriate emotions, perceptions and ways of interacting with others. Having a personality disorder can impact on work, family and social relationships. The disorder may be severe and dominate a person's life, or may be mild with symptoms becoming stronger and problematic during times of increased stress or external pressures.

Previous issues of this bulletin have looked at the role of psychopathology and psychiatric disability in arson. Only a fairly small proportion of arson offenders are ever caught and even fewer become research subjects. People who light fires under the influence of psychopathology, particularly if they become serial offenders and light multiple fires in a discernible pattern, may be more likely to get caught and attract the interest of researchers than those who light fires for more rational reasons.