NCJ Number
133874
Date Published
1991
Length
88 pages
Annotation
This study shows that regional differences in the proven offender rate per head of population in New South Wales are closely linked to regional differences in socioeconomic conditions.
Abstract
Proven offender rates for a range of violent and property offenses were examined during 1987 and 1988 for each local government area (LGA) in New South Wales. There were marked differences in proven offender rates between LGA's that could not be accounted for by police discretion or the existence of biases in the court system. For both violent and property offenses, country LGA's had the highest proven offender rates, although the difference between country LGA's had the highest proven offender rates, although the difference between country LGA's and LGA's in the Sydney Statistical Division was less pronounced for property crimes than for violent crimes. Proven offender rates for all offenses against the person ranged from 3,572.27 per 100,000 in Bourke Shire down to 32.95 per 100,000 in Nymbodia Shire. For all property offenses, proven offender rates changed from 916.57 per 100,000 in Bourke Shire down to 28.18 in Copmanhurst Shire. In the Sydney Statistical Division, LGA's with high proven offender rates tended to have high proportions of poor families, unemployment, and single-parent families. In country LGA's, high proven offender rates were associated with high proportions of single-parent families, public renters, and Aborigines. Unemployment was more strongly associated with property crime than violent crime in country LGA's. Multivariate analysis indicated that proven offender rates are associated with socioeconomic status; areas of low socioeconomic status tend to have higher rates. The author concludes that social policy has an important role to play in crime prevention. Appendixes contain supplemental study data. 68 references, 11 tables and 20 maps