NCJ Number
66050
Date Published
1979
Length
77 pages
Annotation
THROUGH THE PRESENTATION OF PAPERS ON THE AUSTRALIAN ADMINISTRATION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE IN A FEDERAL SYSTEM AND THE PUNISHMENT OF FEDERAL OFFENDERS, THIS SEMINAR CONFRONTS CRIME IN A FEDERAL SYSTEM.
Abstract
A FOREWORD TO THE 1979 SEMINAR BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE AUSTRALIAN LAW REFORM COMMISSION SUGGESTS THAT THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, AND THE REFERENCE GIVEN TO THE AUSTRALIAN LAW REFORM COMMISSION HAS LED TO A WATERSHED IN THE CONSIDERATION OF FEDERAL CRIME IN AUSTRALIA. A SEMINAR INTRODUCTION BY THE CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE NEW SOUTH WALES SUPREME COURT PRECEDES A PAPER BY THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA ATTORNEY GENERAL OUTLINING A NUMBER OF CRIMINAL LAW INITIATIVES IN THE FEDERAL SPHERE. THESE INCLUDE A REFORM OF CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION BY FEDERAL POLICE, A REFORM OF THE SENTENCING AND PUNISHMENT OF COMMONWEALTH OFFENDERS, AND A REVIEW OF THE TRANSFER OF PRISONERS BETWEEN THE STATES SO THAT THE PRISONER CAN BE CLOSER TO SUPPORTIVE FRIENDS AND FAMILY. A SECOND PAPER BY THE COMMISSIONER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LAW REFORM COMMISSION OUTLINES THE STEPS TAKEN BY THE COMMISSION TO SECURE DATA FROM WHICH PATTERNS AND TRENDS IN FEDERAL CRIME COULD BE DRAWN. THESE DATA SHOW THAT FEDERAL OFFENDERS, WHEN COMPARED WITH THE GENERAL OFFENDERS POPULATION, HAVE A HIGHER RATE OF FEMALES AND A LOWER RATE OF YOUNG OFFENDERS; THE BULK OF OFFENSES ARE WHITE-COLLAR AND INCLUDE FRAUD, FORGERY, FALSE PRETENSES, AND MISAPPROPRIATION. A PAPER BY THE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF COMMONWEALTH POLICE GIVES A POLICE PERSPECTIVE ON THE PROBLEM OF CRIME IN A FEDERAL SYSTEM, AND A DISCUSSION PAPER BY A PROFESSOR OF CONSTITUTIONAL LAW AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY REVIEWS THE PROBLEM OF CONFLICTING STATE AND FEDERAL CRIMINAL LAWS. ALSO, A DISCUSSION OF MAJOR ISSUES ADDRESSED BY SEMINAR PARTICIPANTS IS GIVEN. FOOTNOTES AND TABULAR DATA ARE ATTACHED. (AOP)