Western Australia Imprisonment Rates - Essay Example

Western Australia Imprisonment Report This work contains information of various crime cases recorded by crime: facts & figures and later analyzed by the Australian bureau of statistics (abs) between the year 2009 to 2011. It further gives an analysis of the information gathered and recommends on the findings. A REPORT FOR ASSESSMENT TASK NUMBER TWO (BSBRES401A) PREPARED BY: Name Date Executive Summary In chapter one the report explains the aim of the study and goes further to authenticate the information used by stating the bodies that authorized search of the information used. In addition, this chapter indentifies the sources used by the researchers and explains the period within which they were gathered. Chapter two presents the real statistical data as it relates to the actual crimes investigated. Here the categories of crimes i.e. violent crime and Property crimes together with the places of their occurrence are recorded and studied. The analysis offers a critical analysis of the criminal data provided assessing their validity and also offers a better understanding of the reality as presented by other researchers. Here, a contrast is drawn when comparing the various sources used Conclusion assesses whether the aim of the study has been met while recommendations offers possible options to the problems identified in the course of the study Contents Executive Summary 2 1 Introduction 4 1.1 Aim 4 1.2 Authorisation 4 1.3 Sources 4 2 Findings 4 2.1 Violent crime 4 2.2 Property crime 5 2.3 Location of crime 6 3 Analysis 9 4 Conclusion 9 5 Recommendations 9 6 Bibliography 10 1 Introduction In the recent past, crime in Western Australia has been on a downward trend even as the volume and rate vary widely. This has been studied through the Australian Crime: Facts & Figures which employs information gathered from a wide range of sources to generate a holistic and accurate description of criminal justice issues and crime in Western Australia. This work presents extensive information on the trends and patterns concerning specific crimes and the location of criminal acts. 1.1 Aim The purpose of this report is to offer up to date information of the crime rate studied between 2009 and 2011. 1.2 Authorisation The information given here follows consent given by the criminal justices agencies including the Western Australia police department and correction agencies and the district court of Western Australia. 1.3 Sources Most basic information comes from administrative collections like the police and courts that are entitled to maintain data on the population coming into contact with the criminal justice system. In this study the Western Australia police department and correction agencies and the district court of Western Australia offered a great deal of information. Additional information was collected from Crime victimization surveys used to prepare an annual edition of Australian crime: Facts & figures. This includes the Crime Victimization survey carried out by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and the Drug Use Monitoring in Australia survey conducted by the AIC. 2 Findings The study established a wide range of crimes recorded in the study period and also noted the areas where they occurred. This included different forms of violent crime and Property crimes. 2.1 Violent crime Violent crimes take in cases of assault, homicides, robbery and kidnapping, sexual assault. Here it should be noted that robbery may in a way present some element of property crime, it is incorporated in violent crimes since the use of violence is considered a grave offence than merely theft. Table 1 Victims of selected violent crimes, 1996–2010 (n) Year Homicides Assault Sexual assault Robbery Kidnapping/abduction 2009 293 170.720 19.992 16.513 788 2010 293 175.277 18.807 15.238 564 2011 260 171.083 17.757 14.582 603 Of the five groups of violent crime, four showed a fall with regard to the number of victims between 2009 and 2011. These were assault, homicide, robbery and sexual assault. The figure of kidnappings/abductions victims went up between 2009 and 2011 by 39 persons. However, the number of abductions/ kidnappings in 2011 represents a 23 % decrease from 2009, when 788 abductions/ kidnapping/ were recorded. Between 2010 and 2011, homicide victims decreased by 11%. In 2011, abduction/ kidnapping victims decreased by 28%t. However, in 2011 figure went up by seven percent, although maintained a lower rate compared to those recorded in 2009. In 2011, robbery and sexual assault experienced a decline in the number of victims compared with 2010. The figure Sexual assault victims went down by six percent, while robbery figures reduced by four percent. In 2008, the number of kidnapping/abduction victims decreased by 28 percent; the largest percentage decrease of any violent crime over the seven year period. However, in 2010 the numbers of victims rose by seven percent, although continue to remain lower than those recorded in 2007. In 2010, sexual assault and robbery experienced a decline in the number of victims compared with 2009. Sexual assault victim numbers decreased by six percent, while robbery numbers fell by four percent. 2.2 Property crime Property crime includes UEWI (also called burglary or break and enter), MVT and ‘other’ theft, like bag snatching, pick pocketing, bicycle theft and Shoplifting. Table 2 :Victims of property crime 1996–2010 (n) Year Unlawful entry with intent Motor vehicle theft Other theft 2009 214.760 68.265 497.053 2010 222.664 59.649 478.807 2011/2012 216.886 54.736 461.169 Notwithstanding the decrease in the number of victims since 2009 across all the three categories, Western Australia continued to experience high rates of property crime in 2011. The region recorded 17,638 fewer victims of ‘other’ theft in 2011 than those recorded in 2010; representing 4% decrease. The figures of victims of MVT have been going down since 2011, when they recored139, 984 victims in comparison to 54,736 victims recorded in 2010. This is an overall decrease of 61%t. UEWI witnessed the least percentage decrease in victims in the past two years, with the figures of victims only falling by 3% between 2010 and 2011 2.3 Location of crime The Australian Bureau of Statistics categorizes crime locations based on the function of the crime site. There are 3 broad location types: • Residential—including motels, hostels houses and garages/carports,; • Community—including schools. Streets, footpaths, car parks, and transport facilities; and • Other—including recreational facilities, retail premises, warehousing/storage and government offices. Table 3 Location type of violent crimes, 2011 (n) Murder Sexual assault Kidnapping/abduction Robbery RESIDENTIAL Residential dwelling Out building/ residential land Other residential 138 7 9 11.183 300 250 170 9 0 913 160 21 Total residential 154 11,733 179 1,094 COMMUNITY Transport Street/footpath Other community location 0 30 14 599 1,213 1,466 29 276 25 1325 6,704 513 Total Community 44 3,278 330 8,542 OTHER COMMUNITY LOCATIONS Retail Recreational Other unspecified 7 11 6 3 745 814 322 865 35 38 11 6 3,355 1,107 309 175 Total other 27 2,746 91 4,946 Overall total 225 17,757 600 14,582 Sexual assault and murder occurred most frequently in residential settings. In particular, of the 225 murder cases that took place in 2010, 61% occurred within residential houses. Out of the 17,757 sexual assaults cases in 2010, 63% occurred within residential dwelling. The largest percentage of kidnapping/abductions and robberies took place in community locations; particularly on the footpath/ street. In 2010, 46% of robberies and 46% of abductions/ kidnappings happened on the street/footpath. Table 3 Location type of violent crimes, 2011 (n) Unlawful entry with intent Motor vehicle theft Other theft RESIDENTIAL Residential dwelling Out building/ residential land Other residential 131,759 15,856 3,694 0 23,127 0 45,185 85,385 3,072 Total residential 151,309 27,127 133,582 COMMUNITY Transport Street/footpath Other community location 426 0 13,291 3,554 18,814 819 30,426 62,718 25,266 Total Community 13,717 23,187 118,410 OTHER COMMUNITY LOCATIONS Retail Recreational Other unspecified 24,888 5,788 19,596 1,588 3,527 739 3,201 955 151,238 18,555 27,622 11,762 Total other 51,860 8,422 209,177 Overall total 216,896 54,736 461,169 Owing to the crime nature, no MVTs occurred within residential dwelling or in locations categorized as other residential. Correspondingly, no UEWI offences were recorded on the footpath/ street. There was minor variation between the overall numbers of MVTs that happened in either community or residential locations. In 2010, a total of 23,127 MVTs took place in outbuilding/Residential land (under the overall category of Residential), while 18,814 happened on the street/footpath. The largest percentage of ‘other thefts’ happened in retail settings in 2010 (n=151,238). Other than residential dwellings, where the biggest percentage of UEWI occurred (n=131,759), the next most regular setting for UEWI in 2010 was retail locations, where 24,888 offences occurred. 3 Analysis Generally, Western Australian crime has been on the down trend considering the statistics offered in this work. Such is the case that cases recorded on the different categories of crime have shown decrease between 2009 and 2011, thanks to the new measures put in place. However, when compared with other countries like Japan, Australia and in particular western part, has the worst crime rates in the world. This truth is kept veiled from the people, that Anglo countries have one of the highest prevalence of crime with UK and Australia topping the charts while US, Canada and NZ are not far behind. The crime rates are staggering considering that people in Australia are entitled to welfare and Centrelink support and various state funded programs for healthcare and general well being. Which actually causes reduction in crime rates, compare to countries where there is no income support for the unemployed, disabled, elderly or children 4 Conclusion The major findings of this research tend to support those of other Australian and foreign studies. Participants in eelier researches are prone to hold the wrong view that the crime rate is on the rise (when in actual sense there has been a general decline).this work has sufficiently offered valid information and thus attained it s purpose of as resource to help assess the statistical trend of crime in western Australia. 5 Recommendations This work offers substantial information on Western Australia crime rate though not conclusively. More studies can be made using other parameters to help uncover more valuable information on crime rate. 6 Bibliography Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2011a. Criminal courts, Australia 2009–10. ABS cat. No. 4513.0. Canberra: ABS Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2011b. Federal defendants, selected states and territories 2009–10. ABS cat. No. 4515.0 Canberra: ABS Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 1982–2011. Prisoners in Australian (various issues, title varies). ABS cat. No. 4517.0. Canberra: ABS 1982–1993 published by Australian Institute of Criminology. Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2002–2011. Corrective services, Australian (various issues, title varies). ABS cat. No. 4512.0. Canberra: ABS Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) 2011. Juvenile justice in Australia 2009–10 . Read More