NCJ Number
85888
Date Published
1982
Length
124 pages
Annotation
This report for the period July-December 1981 contains statistics on selected crimes reported to the police, all charges heard in Supreme and District courts, all admissions to and discharges from correctional institutions, and all cases involving juveniles in South Australia. It also comments on crime trends and comparisons with other jurisdictions.
Abstract
An overview of the 6-month period notes that reported sexual, robbery, extortion, and driving offenses decreased from the previous half-year, while offenses against the person and property increased. The report emphasizes that Adelaide's serious crime rate is well below U.S. cities of comparable size and that the rate of murders and attempted murder reported in South Australia in 1980-81 was the lowest for a decade and is one of the lowest in the world. Court and correctional statistics show a decline in juvenile offenders and their rates of imprisonment. Supreme and District courts imposed more severe penalties for serious offenses of violence, with the proportion of defendants found guilty in these courts who were imprisoned being 25 percent higher than in the preceding 6 months. The statistics reveal that the criminal justice system has been least effective in handling aboriginal offenders. The Children's Aid Panel System introduced in 1972 apparently reaches few young aboriginal defendants. Although court statistics indicate that adult aboriginal defendants are mainly found guilty of minor offenses, imprisonment figures show that one in three sentences commenced involved an aboriginal. The report discusses police, criminal courts, correctional, and juvenile justice system statistics in detail. Areas covered by tables include age and sex of alleged offenders, court outcome for major offenses, defendants' demographic characteristics, prior criminal history of defendants found guilty, duration of proceedings, appeals, and characteristics of persons in custody. The appendixes contain explanatory notes on the tables, a source list of criminal justice data, and a publications list from the South Australian Office of Crime Statistics. For related material, see NCJ 82969.