NCJ Number
134063
Editor(s)
B Moore
Date Published
1991
Length
172 pages
Annotation
This study of homicide prosecutions in Victoria, Australia between 1968 and 1990 tracks cases from charge to outcome and provides information about the socioeconomic characteristics of the parties involved, the offense charged, and the time taken to prosecute the case.
Abstract
Data were obtained by the Law Reform Commission of Victoria from the police homicide squad, family violence incident reports gathered by the police, and prosecutor files. The average yearly murder rate for the period was 1.5 for every 100,000 population. Although this rate is relatively low, it is pointed out that the figure understates the number of homicides in two ways: some cases are never detected and some deaths are not treated as homicides even though they satisfy the criteria of murder or manslaughter. Short-term strategies to prevent homicide focus on policing domestic violence, arrest and prosecution, police training, police information systems, gun control, personal alarm services, counseling services, and services for ethnic groups. Both prosecution and sentencing processes in Victoria are described, and substantive law reflecting when a person should be found guilty of murder or manslaughter is examined. Appendixes contain data obtained by the Law Reform Commission. Forty-two recommendations to identify and prevent homicide are outlined. 242 footnotes and 17 tables