Crime in Western Australia

Last updated

Western australia locator.svg

Crime in Western Australia is tackled by the Western Australia Police and the Western Australian legal system.

Contents

History

Massacres of indigenous Australians

A number of massacres of Aboriginal Australians, some as part of the frontier wars, occurred from the 1830s until well into the 20th century. Few of the perpetrators were ever brought to justice.

Bushrangers

The colony had its share of bushrangers in the 19th century, the most well-known of whom was "Moondyne Joe".

Death Penalty

Capital punishment in Western Australia was formally removed from the statutes of the state with the passage of the Acts Amendment (Abolition of Capital Punishment) Act 1984. Premier Brian Burke later called this his "proudest achievement". [1]

Western Australia was the second last state in which capital punishment was legal.

Crime statistics

2003-2004

Western Australia recorded lower rates than most other states in Australia for violent offences, but had the highest rate of burglary. In 2003 the prison population increased by 3.4% with a similar increase in 2004. [2]

2007–2008

84 homicides, 3,903 sexual assaults, 22,708 assaults and 1,849 robberies were recorded, with a total of 33,890 offences against the person.

39,482 incidents of burglary and 82,963 incidents of theft were recorded, with a total of 177,846 offences against property. [3]

2008–2009

The chance of being a victim of physical assault was 3.8%. In comparison, the Northern Territory rated 5.7% and New South Wales, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory each rated 2.8%. The rate of assault was 2,199 offenders per 100,000 people, compared with the Northern Territory's 4,832 and the Australian Capital Territory's 1,096. [4]

The chance of being a victim of a break-in in Western Australia was 5.1%. This compared to the Northern Territory's 7.7% and Tasmania's rate of 2.6%. [5]

68 homicides, 3,753 sexual assaults, 22,869 assaults and 1,862 robberies were recorded, with a total of 34,492 offences against the person. 36,364 incidents of burglary and 86,487 incidents of theft were recorded, in a total of 169,263 offences against property. [6]

2009–2010

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures for 2009/10 showed that police action was taken against 2072.1 people per 100,000 head of population in WA. [7]

The chance of being a victim of break-in was 5.2%. [8]

76 homicides, 3,246 sexual assaults, 22,394 assaults and 1,70293 robberies were recorded in Western Australia, in a total of 32,922 offences against the person. 30,043 incidents of burglary, 73,215 incidents of theft were recorded in a total of 143,844 offences against property. [9]

2010–2011

The chance of being a victim of physical assault was 3.6%. This compared to the Northern Territory rate of 5.8% and the lowest, Victoria's, rate of 2.0%. [10]

The chance of being a victim of break-in was 3.7%, a significant drop from the previous two years. The highest-rating Northern Territory scored 6.8% and the lowest, Victoria, 2.2%. [8]

103 homicides, 2,900 sexual assaults, 22,854 assaults and 1,793 robberies were recorded in a total of 32,479 offences against the person. 35,555 incidents of burglary and 77,897 incidents of theft were recorded in a total of 152,649 offences against property. [11]

2011–2012

91 homicides, 2,645 sexual assaults, 22,818 assaults and 1,777 robberies were recorded in a total of 32,091 offences against the person. 36,551 incidents of burglary and 85,541 incidents of theft were recorded in a total of 160,445 offences against property. [12]

2013-2014

Police statistics showed 86 homicides, 3,645 sexual assaults, 16,236 violent assaults, and 106 robberies. [13]

2014-2015

Police recorded 88 homicides, 3,159 sexual assaults, 27,664 domestic and non-domestic assaults, and 1,359 robberies. [13]

2015-2016

3,946 sexual assaults, 33,348 assaults and 135 robberies. [14]

Indigenous imprisonment rates

A leading researcher in prison reform, Gerry Georgatos, said in 2014 that one in thirteen of all Aboriginal adult males in WA is in prison. He stated that this is the highest jailing rate in the world, with WA "...the highest jailer from a racialised lens of our Aboriginal people". [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear; that is, it is a larceny or theft accomplished by an assault. Precise definitions of the offence may vary between jurisdictions. Robbery is differentiated from other forms of theft by its inherently violent nature ; whereas many lesser forms of theft are punished as misdemeanors, robbery is always a felony in jurisdictions that distinguish between the two. Under English law, most forms of theft are triable either way, whereas robbery is triable only on indictment. The word "rob" came via French from Late Latin words of Germanic origin, from Common Germanic raub "theft".

Crime statistics refer to systematic, quantitative results about crime, as opposed to crime news or anecdotes. Notably, crime statistics can be the result of two rather different processes:

A violent crime, violent felony, crime of violence or crime of a violent nature is a crime in which an offender or perpetrator uses or threatens to use harmful force upon a victim. This entails both crimes in which the violent act is the objective, such as murder, assault, rape and assassination, as well as crimes in which violence is used as a method of coercion or show of force, such as robbery, extortion and terrorism. Violent crimes may, or may not, be committed with weapons. Depending on the jurisdiction, violent crimes may be regarded with varying severities from homicide to harassment. There have been many theories regarding heat being the cause of an increase in violent crime. Theorists claim that violent crime is persistent during the summer due to the heat, further causing people to become aggressive and commit more violent crime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crime in Canada</span> Overview of crime in Canada

Crime in Canada is generally considered low overall. Under the Canadian constitution, the power to establish criminal law and rules of investigation is vested in the federal Parliament. The provinces share responsibility for law enforcement, and while the power to prosecute criminal offences is assigned to the federal government, responsibility for prosecutions is delegated to the provinces for most types of criminal offences. Laws and sentencing guidelines are uniform throughout the country, but provinces vary in their level of enforcement.

Articles related to criminology and law enforcement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crime in Australia</span> Australian police information

Crime in Australia is managed by various law enforcement bodies, the federal and state-based criminal justice systems and state-based correctional services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crime in Sweden</span> Overview of crime in Sweden

Crime in Sweden is defined by the Swedish Penal Code and in other Swedish laws and statutory instruments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crime in the Northern Territory</span>

Crime in the Northern Territory is managed by the Northern Territory Police, the territory government's Department of the Attorney-General and Justice and Territory Families.

Crime in the United Kingdom describes acts of violent crime and non-violent crime that take place within the United Kingdom. Courts and police systems are separated into three sections, based on the different judicial systems of England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

The municipal government of Winnipeg is represented by 15 city councillors and a mayor elected every four years.

Crime has been recorded in the United States since its founding and has fluctuated significantly over time, with a sharp rise after 1900 and reaching a broad bulging peak between the 1970s and early 1990s. After 1992, crime rates have generally trended downwards each year, with the exceptions of a slight increase in property crimes in 2001 and increases in violent crimes in 2005-2006, 2014-2016 and 2020-2021. While official federal crime data beginning in 2021 has a wide margin of error due to the incomplete adoption of the National Incident-Based Reporting System by government agencies, federal data for 2020-2021 and limited data from select U.S. cities collected by the nonpartisan Council on Criminal Justice showed significantly elevated rates of homicide and motor vehicle theft in 2020-2022. Although overall crime rates have fallen far below the peak of crime seen in the United States during the late 1980s and early 1990s, the homicide rate in the U.S. has remained high, relative to other "high income"/developed nations, with eight major U.S. cities ranked among the 50 cities with the highest homicide rate in the world in 2022. The aggregate cost of crime in the United States is significant, with an estimated value of $4.9 trillion reported in 2021. Data from the first half of 2023, from government and private sector sources show that the murder rate has dropped, as much as 12% in as many as 90 cities across the United States. The drop in homicide rates is not uniform across the country however, with some cities such as Memphis, TN, showing an uptick in murder rates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crime in New Zealand</span> Overview of crime in New Zealand

Crime in New Zealand encompasses criminal law, crime statistics, the nature and characteristics of crime, sentencing, punishment, and public perceptions of crime. New Zealand criminal law has its origins in English criminal law, which was codified into statute by the New Zealand parliament in 1893. Although New Zealand remains a common law jurisdiction, all criminal offences and their penalties are codified in New Zealand statutes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crime in London</span> Overview of crime in London, England

Figures on crime in London are based primarily on two sets of statistics: the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) and police recorded crime data. Greater London is generally served by three police forces; the Metropolitan Police which is responsible for policing the vast majority of the capital, the City of London Police which is responsible for The Square Mile of the City of London and the British Transport Police, which polices the national rail network and the London Underground. A fourth police force in London, the Ministry of Defence Police, do not generally become involved with policing the general public. London also has a number of small constabularies for policing parks. Within the Home Office crime statistic publications, Greater London is referred to as the London Region.

In 2019, 43,686 crimes were reported in the U.S. state of Michigan. Crime statistics vary widely by location. For example, Dearborn has a murder rate of only 2.1 per 100,000 while sharing borders with Detroit and Inkster, some of the highest rates in the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crime in Minnesota</span> Overview of crime in the US state of Minnesota

Crime in Minnesota encompasses a wide range of unlawful activities that occur within the state, regulated by both state and federal laws. While crime rates in Minnesota are generally below the national average, certain areas and types of crime have garnered public attention.

Indigenous Australians are both convicted of crimes and imprisoned at a disproportionately higher rate in Australia, as well as being over-represented as victims of crime. As of September 2019, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners represented 28% of the total adult prisoner population, while accounting for 2% of the general adult population. Various explanations have been given for this over-representation, both historical and more recent. Federal and state governments and Indigenous groups have responded with various analyses, programs and measures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crime in Hong Kong</span>

Crime in Hong Kong is present in various forms. The most common crimes are thefts, assaults, vandalism, burglaries, drug offenses, sex trafficking, and triad-related crimes.

Crime in the Australian Capital Territory is controlled by ACT Policing, which is responsible for providing policing services to the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). Prisons are managed by ACT Corrective Services.

Criminal activity in New South Wales, Australia is combated by the New South Wales Police Force and the New South Wales court system, while statistics about crime are managed by the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research. Modern Australian states and cities, including New South Wales, have some of the lowest crime rates recorded globally with Australia ranked the 13th safest nation and Sydney ranked the 5th safest city globally. As of September 2018 the City of Penrith (475.7) and City of Blacktown (495.1). Rural areas have comparatively high crime rates per 100,000 with rural shires such as Walgett Shire (1350.3) and Moree Plains Shire (1236.2) having some of the highest violent crime rates in the state. The overall NSW crime rate has been in steady decline for many years.

Crime in Tasmania has existed since the earliest days of the European settlement in 1803. Laws creating criminal offences are contained entirely in statutes, statutory regulations, and by-laws, common law offences having been abolished by the Criminal Code Act 1924 s 6. Most offences are enforced by Tasmania Police, although a small category of offences are prosecuted by other statutory authorities such as local governments, and the Tasmanian branch of RSPCA Australia. All offences are prosecuted through the Tasmanian justice system, and sentences of imprisonment are administered by the Tasmania Prison Service. Some crime statistics for Tasmania are provided on the Tasmania Police website.

References

  1. O'Connor, Andrew (30 May 2015). "Cabinet papers released: Abolition of death penalty 'greatest achievement', former premier Brian Burke says". ABC News. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  2. Reports and statistics Portal at Faculty of Law, University of Western Australia
  3. "Monthly verified crime statistics 2007/08". Western Australia Police. 28 June 2010. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  4. "Crime – States and Territories – Personal Crimes – Assault". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 15 September 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
  5. "Crime – States and Territories – Household Crimes – Break -Ins". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 15 September 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
  6. "Monthly verified crime statistics 2008/09". Western Australia Police. 24 June 2010. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  7. La Canna, Xavier (24 February 2011). "Women increasingly target of police action". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  8. 1 2 "Household Crime Summary". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 20 February 2012. Archived from the original on 4 January 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  9. "Monthly verified crime statistics 2009/2010". Western Australia Police. 5 October 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  10. "Personal Crime Summary". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 20 February 2012. Archived from the original on 4 January 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  11. "Monthly verified crime statistics 2010/11". Western Australia Police. 5 October 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  12. "Monthly verified crime statistics 2011/12". Western Australia Police. 24 September 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  13. 1 2 https://www.police.wa.gov.au/404?item=%2fcrime%2fcrime-statistics-portal%2fcrime-statistics-portal%2fmonthly-and-annual-crime-statistics&user=extranet%5cAnonymous&site=wwwPolice . Retrieved 13 March 2019.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. "Monthly and annual crime statistics". Western Australia Police. Archived from the original on 26 October 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  15. Georgatos, Gerry. "Aboriginal deaths in custody bring focus to disturbing rate of imprisonment". ABC (Interview). 7:30 with Leigh Sales. Interviewed by Bronwyn Herbert. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 10 October 2019.

Further reading