NCJ Number
74144
Date Published
1980
Length
48 pages
Annotation
South Australian crime, court, and corrections are presented and discussed in this quarterly report for the period ending June 30, 1980.
Abstract
Statistics on crimes reported to the police and trends in reported crimes are included in a section devoted to police activities. The State's crime rates are then compared to rates of a selection of U.S. cities. Generally, the rate of reported crime is far greater in the American cities than in this State or in its capital, Adelaide. Another section on the supreme and district criminal courts contains data on criminal charges, pleas, sentences, and appeals. The accompanying narrative indicates that 90 percent of all defendants charged in the higher criminal courts were ultimately convicted. Of these, 85 percent arose from defendants' pleas of guilty. Furthermore, 69 percent of those individuals who sought to contest charges against them were convicted. The courts disposed of 64 drug cases, and all but two of these involved cannabis. A section on correctional services provides data on persons under supervision and explains that the average daily number of persons in custody, in proportion to the general population (66.7 per 100,000), represents an increase over the previous quarter. Recidivists composed 15 percent of the prison population, and the current rate of recidivism (11.5 per 100,000 population) is the highest of any Australian State. The juvenile justice activity of the Department for Community Welfare is described in a final section. Data are presented on offenses, outcomes, and offender characteristics. A consistent decrease in the percentage of females appearing before the Children's Court is noted as is an increase in the number of appearances by children under 15 years of age. Data are presented in tabular form, and appendixes contain explanatory notes and definitions of terms.