[2] The higher rate of multiple offender offences in the Jochelson study than for the figure for the US can largely be explained by the fact that the Jochelson study focussed on crimes in the inner Sydney (city) area where groups of youths would more likely congregate. The US figures apply to crimes at all locations, city and suburban, street crime and domestic violence.

[3] The Barker study team interviewed robbery offenders who had been caught. A quarter indicated that they had planned their robberies, picking a location, time, escape route and waiting for an appropriate victim. The majority of street robberies however were spontaneous and committed by a group of offenders.

[4] Tomsen, Homel and Thommeny made a first hand detailed study of violence in pubs, clubs and nightclubs in the Sydney region and noted: "Assailants who deliberately seek out a violent encounter appear to pick their mark. These victims are most often fewer in number, younger, and smaller. Assailants also appear to focus on victims who are quite drunk, or at least far more intoxicated than they are".

[5] The Jochelson study showed that in 15% of all crimes against the person in inner Sydney a weapon was used and this was a knife in 57% of all incidents involving a weapon. In London in the Barker study a weapon was used in 20.1% of all street robberies and again a knife was the most common weapon. It is worth noting that the use of a weapon especially for robbery is for its threat value and not to inflict harm. It is therefore wielded in a different manner than for assaults.

[6] The Jochelson study showed that 48.1% of assaults and 75.3% of robberies in the Sydney district took place outdoors. The timing of offences is spread across times and days of the week but favour the early hours of Saturday and Sunday morning. The Briscoe and Donnelly study also confirms this. But note that both studies (among others) show that there are hot spots of potential violence, The Briscoe study noted that only 12% of hotels in Sydney account for 60% of all pub related violence.

[7] In the Jochelson study 8.8% of assault victims reported no injury while 39.7% stated they were seriously injured. Of the robbery victims 37.4% indicated that they were not injured (although many reported suffering shock) while 15.7% indicated serious injury. In the Barker study of street robberies in London, this figure was much lower at 3%.

REFERENCES

1. Barker, M. Geraghty, J. Webb, B, Key, T. (1993), The Prevention of Street Robbery, Police Research Group, Crime Prevention Unit Series Paper No. 44, London, Home Office Police Department.

2. Briscoe,S. Donnelly, R. (2001), Assaults on Licensed Premises in Inner Urban Areas, Alcohol Studies Bulletin No. 2, NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research.

3. Cameron, M. (2000), Young Men and Violence Prevention, Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice No.154, Australian Institute of Criminology.

4. Chappell, D. How Violent is Australian Society?, unpublished paper.

5. Doak, P (2001), New South Wales Recorded Crime Statistics 2000, NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research.

6. Freeman, K. (1996) Young People and Crime, Crime and Justice Bulletin No.22, N.S.W. Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research.

7. Jochelson, R. (1997). Crime and Place: An Analysis of Assaults and Robberies in Inner Sydney. New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research.

8. Olgilvie, G., (2000) Knives and Armed Robbery, Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice Number 159, Australian Institute of Criminology.

9. Tomsen,S. Homel, R. Tommeny, J. (1989), The Causes of Public Violence: Situational "versus" Other Factors in Drinking Related Assaults, Crime Prevention Studies.

10. U.S. Department of Justice, (2000), Criminal Victimisation in the United States, 1999 Statistical Tables, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice.

11. Web, B., Laycock, G. (1992), Reducing Crime on the London Underground, Crime Prevention Unit Paper No. 30, London, Home Office.

<< Previous Page Page 1 | 2 | 3