Crime-wise, Australia is comparatively a safe place to live, though often the perception of crime is much higher. Human smuggling, human trafficking and the illegal drug trade have all impacted Australia in recent years.[1] Australia has a much lower violent crime rate than some other developed nations, such as the United States and Canada.[2]
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The Australian Institute of Criminology provides national statistics on crime in Australia.[3] State police and justice departments also compile information on the patterns of regional crime.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows that during the 2009/10 financial year police took action against 375,259 people[4], up by 4.8 per cent from 2008/09 figures.[5] Young offenders aged 10 to 19, comprised about 29 percent of the total offender population across Australia.[6]
In the 2009/10 financial year, 84,100 women had police action taken against them across Australia, up by six per cent compared with the previous year.[7] 290,400 men had police action taken against them in 2009/10, an annual increase of 4 per cent.[8] About 30 per cent of the women were accused of theft, whereas the most common principal offence for men was intention to cause injury and matters related to public order.[9]
During the late 18th and 19th centuries, large numbers of convicts were transported to the various Australian penal colonies by the British government.[10] One of the primary reasons for the British settlement of Australia was the establishment of a penal colony to alleviate pressure on their overburdened correctional facilities. Over the 80 years more than 165,000 convicts were transported to Australia.[11]
Bushrangers were criminals who used the Australian bush as a refuge to hide from authorities between committing their robberies, roughly analogous to the British "highwayman" and American "Old West outlaws,". Their targets often included small-town banks or coach services. The term "bushranger" evolved to refer to those who abandoned social rights and privileges to take up "robbery under arms" as a way of life, using the bush as their base.
See also - Civil disturbances in Western Australia
Law enforcement in Australia is served by police, sheriffs and bailiffs under the control of state, territory and the Federal governments. A number of state, territory and federal agencies also administer a wide variety of legislation related to white-collar crime.
The Police are responsible for the criminal law. The sheriff and bailiffs in each state and territory are responsible for the enforcement of the judgments of the courts exercising civil law (common law) jurisdictions.
It is a common misconception that in Australia there are two distinct levels of police forces, the various state police forces and then overriding that, the Australian Federal Police (AFP). In actuality, the various state police forces are responsible for enforcing state law within their own states while the AFP are responsible for the enforcement of and investigation of crimes against Commonwealth law which applies across the whole country.
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