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The ABS reports on weapons use in serious offences. These include murder, attempted murder, kidnap/abduction and robbery, with robbery defined as occurring against persons and not organisations. The figure below shows that weapons were more likely to be used in the most serious offences of murder (64%) and attempted murder (73%) than in kidnapping (19%) and robbery (44%). In terms of type of weapons used, around one-third involved knives, while more firearms (25%) were used in attempted murders than in completed murder cases (17%).

A new report by the Australian Institute of Criminology (Taylor 2007) examines the juror beliefs and attitudes that often shape the outcome of sexual assault trials. As illustrated below, the report shows that sexual assault trials are more likely to result in an acquittal than in a guilty verdict in the higher courts; this occurs in more than half of the cases brought to the higher courts. The figure also shows that acquittals have been more common in sexual assault cases than in all other serious offences in the past three years.

A recent report from the Australian Institute of Criminology (Schloenhardt 2007) examined the market for amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) in Oceania, and included information about the manufacture of ATS and related drugs in clandestine laboratories. The figure below shows data from the report on the detection of clandestine drug laboratories. The number of laboratories detected each financial year over the period 1996-2006 increased almost seven-fold, from 58 in 1996-97 to 390 in 2005-06.

Community satisfaction with police has been consistently high over the past decade. Based on data from the National Survey of Community Satisfaction with Policing, the figure below reports overall trends in satisfaction. There have been changes in the methodology of the survey which could affect responses and in 2000-01 the survey was not released. Prior to 2001 the survey interviewed those aged 18 years and older; since 2001 the sample has included those aged 15 years and over.

In 2006 more than 18,000 victim incidents of sexual assault and related offences were recorded by police across Australia (ABS 2007). Conservatively, this is estimated to represent only about 30 percent or less of all victim incidents of sexual offences as the vast majority of victims do not report to police. Of sexual offence incidents (including rape) which are reported to police, less than 20 percent result in charges being laid and criminal proceedings being instigated (Fitzgerald 2006; Heenan & Murray 2006).

Erratum

2008. Serial murder in Australia. Crime facts info no. 163. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.

The table titled Typology of serial murder in Australia, 1989–90 to 2005–06 contains an error in the third row under Number and gender of victims. The information given is 1 male; 6 females. This should read 2 males; 5 females. We apologise for this error.

In 2007, the Community attitudes to privacy survey was conducted by the Wallis Consulting Group for the Office of the Privacy Commissioner. Included in the issues examined was a series of questions concerning awareness and experience of identity fraud and theft (IFT). More than 1,500 respondents took part in the latest survey, which showed increased levels of concern in the community over the prevalence of IFT since the previous comparable survey conducted in 2004. Nine percent of those surveyed said they had been a victim of IFT, while 17 percent said they knew a victim.

A total of 1,445 firearms were reported stolen in Australia between 1 July 2005 and 30 June 2006 in 634 incidents (Bricknell & Mouzos 2007). This was a decrease of 25 firearms and 31 incidents from the previous year. Of these incidents, just over one-half of the firearms had been stored in a firearm safe or other secure receptacle at the time of the theft (55%). In a further nine percent of incidents, the firearms were left in a vehicle and in seven percent they had been kept in a (usually) unlocked cupboard or wardrobe.

The National Deaths in Custody Program (NDICP) is responsible for monitoring the extent and nature of deaths in police, prison and juvenile custody. Since 1980, there has been a total of 1,879 deaths in custody - 1,161 in prison custody, 701 in police custody (and custody-related operations) and 17 in juvenile custody (Joudo & Curnow 2008). As prison deaths account for most deaths in custody, trends in prison deaths will be reflected in overall deaths. Between 1980 and 2006, three trends have emerged in the total number of deaths in custody recorded each year.

Armed robbery in Australia generally targets either an individual or an organisation. Some organisations are more likely to be targeted than others for reasons including differences in the amount of money held at the location, varying levels of security measures and the number of possible witnesses. In 2005, among selected organisational types approximately two in five (40%), armed robberies targeted a retail setting, although this type of location encompasses a wide range of commercial businesses.

Between 1999 and 2006, a total of 24,936 police detainees were surveyed as part of the Australian Institute of Criminology's Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA) program. Of these, 1,689 detainees (7%) reported living on the street, having no fixed address or living in crisis accommodation at the time of their apprehension.

The Australian Institute of Criminology has released a paper assessing some of the major costs of crime in 2005 (Rollings 2008). The paper estimates costs for a range of offences as well as the criminal justice system. The overall cost of crime in Australia amounts to nearly $36b per year, which is 4.1 percent of national gross domestic product. The total cost of homicide is $950m and carries the highest cost per victim, equalling about $1.9m per incident. Assault costs $1.4b per year, with an average of $1,700 per assault.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics Personal Safety Survey 2005 outlines, among other things, the incidence of sexual assault against men. Sexual assault includes acts of a sexual nature carried out against a person's will through the use of physical force, intimidation or coercion, or any attempts to do this (ABS 2006).

Community corrections agencies are responsible for a range of non-custodial sanctions and deliver post-custodial interventions for released prisoners (Productivity Commission 2008). The nature and extent of supervision involved, whether orders involve work or other conditions and the degree to which an offender's movement within the community is restricted, vary between types of orders and jurisdictions. The figure below shows the rates of Indigenous and non-Indigenous offenders serving community corrections orders.

As part of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) 2007 National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS), respondents aged 14 years and over were asked whether, in the 12 months prior, they had experienced drug-related victimisation or were involved in a range of illegal activities while under the influence of drugs. Drug-relatedness is based on the perceptions of respondents in the NDSHS and does not necessarily indicate the actual presence of drug use or intoxication at the time of an incident.