This snapshot describe the penalties imposed on convicted assault offenders. The most common penalty imposed on assault offenders is a bond but the likelihood of a prison sentence increases with both the seriousness of the assault and the number of prior convictions. Approximately 23 per cent of offenders convicted of a serious assault causing injury...

High levels of alcohol and other drug use-related harm among Indigenous Australians are both a consequence of, and contribute to, the health and social gap between them and non-Indigenous Australians. This resource sheet summarises current evidence on the issue. Reduction of harmful alcohol and other drug (AOD) use must include broad strategies to address the...

Research by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research has shown that the observed rate of re-offending among juvenile offenders convicted in 2006/7 was significantly higher than the predicted rate of re-offending. The discrepancy, though small, (57.9% observed rate compared to 54.7% predicted rate) was statistically significant. The re-offending predictions were made using an...

This snapshot describe the penalties imposed on adult offenders convicted of illicit drug offences involving amphetamines. Summary: In 2009-2010, 2,397 offenders were convicted of illicit drug offences involving amphetamines. The majority (70.9%) were convicted of using or possessing amphetamines, while nearly a quarter were convicted of dealing or trafficking amphetamines. The most common penalty imposed...

This paper examines whether the reduction in the percentage of cases where bail is dispensed with (unconditional release) is due to a change in the profile of cases coming before the criminal courts or a general increase in the threshold for dispensing with bail. A series of statistical (logistic regression) models of the likelihood of...