NCJ Number
74272
Date Published
1980
Length
101 pages
Annotation
This annual report of the Queensland Police Department, Australia, for the 12 months ending June 30, 1980, discusses crime clear-up rates, staffing, crime rates, traffic enforcement, and drug use and abuse.
Abstract
The clear-up rate for 1979-80 was 50.93 percent, a drop of only .74 percent below the previous record. The government's approval of an optional retirement scheme for officers aged 55 resulted in the loss of 100 senior and experienced officers and, as a consequence, the record clear-up rate of the previous year was not maintained. The total number of offenses for the year, including all criminal offenses and offenses against good order, totaled 159,944. This total showed an increase of 12,563 or 8.5 percent, which was only marginally less than the increase of reported offenses (12,512 or 9 percent) for 1978-79. In the categories of more serious crime, such as homicide, robbery, serious assault, rape, attempted rape, false pretenses, stealing and unlawful use of motor vehicles, and breaking and entering, 36,173 offenses were reported. These represented an increase of 14 percent but the clear-up rate was still maintained at a high level of 38 percent. The number of traffic offenses increased by more than 5 percent from 257,585 in 1978-79 to 272,250. In addition, the number of fatal accidents dropped by 3 percent. Juvenile offenders were responsible for 17 percent of all offenses cleared-up, 53 percent of breaking and entering offenses, 42 percent of total stealing offenses, and 34 percent of offenses involving the stealing and unlawful use of motor vehicles. In addition, there was a 25 percent increase in drug use and abuse offenses from 3,598 in 1978-79 to 4,504 in 1979-80. Other report categories include training, public order, searches (land, sea, and air), administration, departmental objectives for 1980-81, aboriginal relations, industrial relations, awards, Queensland graduate from FBI National Academy, and regional highlights. An index and 31 appendixes are included.