This report follows from a Roundtable discussion held in July 2012 to consider new approaches to public policy about illicit drugs in Australia. An earlier Australia21 report launched in April 2012 had concluded that attempts to control drug use through the criminal justice system have clearly failed. They have also caused the needless and damaging...

New figures indicate that use of narcotics (e.g. heroin) and cocaine is increasing, according to this Crime and Justice Statistics Bureau Brief. The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research examined trends in arrests for narcotics and cocaine possession and overdoses on narcotics and cocaine between 1999 and 2009. The number of arrests for narcotics...

This report provides an overview of the production and consumption of amphetamines and other synthetic drugs (AOSD) in Australia and discusses the extent to which organised crime is involved in manufacture and distribution. It examines the National Drug Strategy, reviews its main aims and effectiveness, and provides a brief overview of the key policy and...

Death from heroin overdose, in particular, rivals the road toll in destroying lives, especially among young Australians. This report is based on intensive fieldwork in three study areas: inner Melbourne (Fitzroy-Collingwood); Geelong and Sydney (Fairfield-Cabramatta). These areas have been carefully chosen to include an inner region of a capital city, a regional city and an...

This paper assesses some of the major costs for a range of offences. The cost of the crimes covered here amounts to $19 billion. Other costs (such as policing, prisons and the security industry) add nearly another $13 billion. The total estimated bill is nearly $32 billion per year. Fraud is the most costly crime...