The ACT Department of Justice and Community Safety commissioned the Australian Institute of Criminology to undertake research in relation to sexual assault and related offences in the ACT. The objectives of this three-stage project were to: examine the feasibility of an integrated justice information system by focusing on sexual assault and related offences; gauge the type of sexual assault and related offences data available from ACT criminal justice agencies; develop a minimum crime and justice dataset on sexual assault and related offences; and, examine a snapshot of sexual assault and related offences in order to explore the nature of these offences.
This report is the product of stage three of the project and is divided into two parts: the first addresses data tracking, and the second provides a snapshot of sexual assault and related offences in the ACT. This report on the project aims to: outline the processes involved in compiling data across the ACT criminal justice system and highlight the key lessons learnt regarding interagency information tracking; contextualise the current project, by discussing key concepts and issues linked to sexual assault and related offences and providing statistical information drawn from a range of sources; provide a snapshot of sexual assault and related offences in the ACT, including a discussion of attrition from the ACT criminal justice system.