SYDNEY (AUSTRALIA) IN FERMENT - CRIME, DISSENT AND OFFICIAL REACTION, 1788-1973

• NCJ Number: 52603
• Author(s): P N GRABOSKY
• Date Published: 1977
• Length: 222 pages
• Grant Number(s): MH21204
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Health, Education, and Welfare
• Corporate Author: Australian National University Press
• Sale Source: Australian National University Press
• Publication Type: Historical Overview
• Language: English
• Country: Australia

Annotation

THE EVOLUTION OF CRIMINALITY IN SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA IS TRACED, ALONG WITH THE COURSE OF OFFICIAL REACTION TO IT DURING THE TWO CENTURIES OF THE CITY'S HISTORY.

Abstract

THE STUDY BEGINS WITH A BRIEF HISTORY OF SYDNEY'S URBAN GROWTH, SET AGAINST THE BACKGROUND OF CONTEMPORARY CHANGES IN LEVELS OF REPORTED CRIME, POLITICAL DISSIDENCE, AND DEVELOPMENTS OF POLICE, JUDICIAL, AND PENAL INSTITUTIONS. THE FOLLOWING CHAPTER DELINEATES THE AVAILABILITY OF RELEVANT STATISTICAL MATERIAL, THEN DESCRIBES THE LONG-TERM TRENDS IN THE REPORTED INCIDENCE OF CRIME AND CIVIL STRIFE FROM THE ORIGINAL EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT AT SYDNEY COVE UNTIL THE END OF 1972. REMAINING CHAPTERS DESCRIBE THE SUCCESSIVE PERIODS IN SYDNEY'S HISTORY, AS DISTINGUISHED BY SHORT-TERM CHANGES IN THE APPARENT INCIDENCE OF CRIME AND TURMOIL OR BY SIGNIFICANT STRUCTURAL CHANGES IN THE NEW SOUTH WALES POLITICAL SYSTEM. IN EACH OF THESE CHAPTERS, THE NATURE AND DIMENSIONS OF CONTEMPORARY DISORDER ARE DISCUSSED, AS ARE THE ATTENDING DEMOGRAPHIC AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS. THE EXTENT TO WHICH CRIMINALITY APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN INFLUENCED BY POPULATION GROWTH, IMMIGRATION, AND INCREASING ETHNIC HETEROGENEITY IS NOTED, AS ARE THE APPARENT EFFECTS OF SHORT-TERM FLUCTUATIONS IN THE LEVEL OF MATERIAL WELL-BEING AND CHANGES IN THE STRUCTURE OF THE ECONOMIC SYSTEM. A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF EACH CHAPTER IS DEVOTED TO VIEWS OF THE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AND MORE AFFLUENT MEMBERS OF SOCIETY IN GENERAL TOWARDS CONTEMPORARY CRIMINAL AND DISSIDENT ACTIVITY. FINALLY, AN ATTEMPT IS MADE IN EACH CHAPTER TO MAP THE IMPACT OF MODIFICATIONS OF CRIMINAL LAW AND TO ASSESS THE EFFECT OF CRIME CONTROL STRATEGIES ON THE DISORDERS OF THE TIMES. THE FINAL CHAPTER SEEKS TO GENERALIZE FROM THIS HISTORICAL NARRATIVE AND TO DELINEATE ANY CONSISTENT RELATIONAL PATTERNS BETWEEN THE VARIOUS PHENOMENA UNDER CONSIDERATION. A LIST OF OFFENSES INCLUDED IN THE VARIOUS INDEX CATEGORIES IS APPENDED. AN INDEX, SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY, AND REFERENCES NOTES ARE PROVIDED. (KBL)