NCJ Number
233423
Date Published
2010
Length
59 pages
Annotation
This annual report from Australia's Homicide Monitoring Program presents homicide statistics for Australia from 2007-2008.
Abstract
Major findings from this report include: 2007-08 there were 260 homicides, a rate of 1.3 per 100,000 Australians similar to the previous year's rate and the lowest recorded since data were first collected in 1989-90; 38 of the victims were Indigenous Australians; the victimization rate for Indigenous Australians was 7 times higher than for non-Indigenous Australians; 12 percent of the homicides involved use of a firearm, up from 9 percent in 2006-07; the majority of the firearms used were unregistered or unlicensed; and 60 percent of the domestic homicide incidents were intimate partner homicides. Data for this report were obtained as part of the National Homicide Monitoring Program (NHMP), a national monitoring program in Australia used to monitor homicide rates and facilitate detailed analysis of homicide types and trends. Two primary sources of data are used for the NHMP: offense records obtained from each State and territory police service, and coroner's reports from each State and territory. For this report, homicide is refers to a person killed unlawfully, and a homicide incident is an event in which one or more persons are killed at the same time and place. The data and subsequent analysis from the NHMP provide an important foundation for the development and implementation of evidence-based policies at local and national levels. Tables, figures, references, appendixes