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Crime in Australia is exemplified through numerous incidents throughout history.
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History
Convicts
During the late 18th and 19th centuries, large numbers of convicts were transported to the various Australian penal colonies by the British government.[1] One of the primary reasons for the British settlement of Australia was the establishment of a penal colony to alleviate pressure on their overburdened correctional facilities. Over the 80 years more than 165,000 convicts were transported to Australia.[2]
Bushrangers of Australia
Bushrangers were criminals who used the Australian bush as a refuge to hide from authorities between committing their robberies, roughly analogous to the British "highwayman" and American "Old West outlaws,". Their targets often included small-town banks or coach services. The term "bushranger" evolved to refer to those who abandoned social rights and privileges to take up "robbery under arms" as a way of life, using the bush as their base.
Riots in Australia
See also - Civil disturbances in Western Australia
Death penalty in Australia
Capital punishment had been part of the legal system of Australia since British settlement and during the 19th century, crimes that could carry a death sentence included burglary, sheep stealing, forgery, sexual assaults, murder and manslaughter and there is one reported case of someone being executed for "being illegally at large" and during the 19th century, these crimes saw about 80 people hanged each year throughout Australia.
The death penalty was abolished in Queensland in 1922, Tasmania in 1968, the Commonwealth in 1973, Northern Territory in 1973, Victoria in 1975, South Australia in 1976, ACT in 1983, Western Australia in 1984, and New South Wales in 1985. It was finally abolished through federal law in 1973 with the 'Death Penalty Abolition Act 1973[1] of the Commonwealth abolished the dealth penalty for federal offences . It provided in Section 3 that the Act applied to any offence against a law of the Commonwealth, the Territories or under an Omperial Act, and in s. 4 that "[a] person is not liable to the punishment of death for any offence".
No executions were carried out under the bridge of the federal government and the passage of the Death Penalty Abolition Act 1973[2] saw the death penalty replaced with life imprisonment as their maximum punishment. Since the Commonwealth effects of utilizing this Act no more individuals have been exposed to the death penalty and it is now replaced with life imprisonment.
Major crimes in Australia
Law enforcement in Australia
Law enforcement in Australia is served by police, sheriffs and bailiffs under the control of state, territory and the Federal governments. A number of state, territory and federal agencies also administer a wide variety of legislation related to white-collar crime.
The Police are responsible for the criminal law. The sheriff and bailiffs in each state and territory are responsible for the enforcement of the judgments of the courts exercising civil law (common law) jurisdictions.
It is a common misconception that in Australia there are two distinct levels of police forces, the various state police forces and then overriding that, the Australian Federal Police (AFP). In actuality, the various state police forces are responsible for enforcing state law within their own states while the AFP are responsible for the enforcement of and investigation of crimes against Commonwealth law which obviously applies across the whole country.
Organisations
Penal system
Life imprisonment in Australia
In Australia, life imprisonment is of indeterminate length. The sentencing judge usually sets a non-parole period after which the prisoner can apply for release under parole conditions. In the case of a criminal who has committed particularly heinous crimes, the sentencing judge may recommend that the person is "never to be released".
Prisons in Australia
Private prisons
Prisons in Australia managed by private corporations.
Prison museums
Former Australian prisons which are now open to the public as museums.
- Old Dubbo Gaol
- Boggo Road Gaol
- Fremantle Prison
- Fannie Bay Gaol
- Gladstone Gaol
- J Ward
- HM Prison Geelong
- Adelaide Gaol
- Mount Gambier Gaol
- Redruth Gaol
- Maitland Gaol
- Wentworth Gaol
Former prisons
- HM Prison Beechworth
- HM Prison Fairlea
- HM Prison Geelong
- HM Prison Sale
- HM Prison Morwell River
- HM Prison Pentridge
See also
- Australian immigration detention facilities
- Islamic terrorism and Australia
- List of Australian mental asylums
- List of Australian prisons and detention centres
- List of Australian shootings
Australian prisoners and detainees
Australian people currently imprisoned, and also those of other nationalities accommodated in Australian prisons.
See also: Category:Australian prisoners and detainees See also: List of Australians in international prisons
Current prisoners
- Brendan Abbott, aka The Postcard Bandit
- Bali Nine, 9 Australians currently on trial for drug trafficking in Indonesia
- Martin Bryant, Port Arthur massacre
- Schapelle Corby, sentenced to 20 years for drug trafficking in Indonesia
- Frank De Stefano
- Keith Faure
- Andrew Garforth, convicted killer of 9 year old Ebony Simpson in Bargo, New South Wales
- Sef Gonzales
- Sven Huebner[3]
- Julian Knight, Hoddle Street Massacre
- Ivan Milat, Backpacker Murders
- Craig Minogue, Russell Street Bomber
- Phuong Ngo
- Bilal Skaf, sentenced to 55 years for Sydney gang rape crimes
- John Sharpe, sentenced to 33 years for the spear gun murders of his wife and two year old child.
- Stephen John Sutton, convicted of drug trafficking in Argentina
- Stan Taylor, Russell Street Bomber
- John Travers, ringleader of the Anita Cobby murder
- Bevan Spencer von Einem
- Peter Dupas
- Carl Williams, convicted drug trafficker and murderer associated with Melbourne's Gangland war.
Former prisoners
- Alan Bond
- Garry David, (d. 1993), self harmer, detained beyond his sentence for public safety
- Mamdouh Habib, accused but never charged of knowledge of 9/11, incarcerated in the US Camp X-Ray and released 2005
- David Hicks, detained by the U.S. at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, sentenced to 7 years for terrorism in Afghanistan
- Derryn Hinch, Melbourne radio personality jailed for contempt of court
- Chika Honda, Japanese woman imprisoned on drug importation charges
- Jim Krakouer, star AFL footballer, sentenced to 16 years imprisonment for drug trafficking.
- Rene Rivkin (deceased)
- Jack Roche
Regional crime
Australian Capital Territory
New South Wales
Northern Territory
Queensland
South Australia
Tasmania
Victoria
Western Australia
Documentary
- Australia's Most Wanted (1989-1999)
- Crime Investigation Australia (2005-)
Other
- Missing Persons Unit
- Forensic Investigators
- The Long Arm (Network Ten - 1970)
- Solo One (Seven Network - 1976)
- Special Squad (Network Ten - 1984)
- Underbelly
- Waterloo Station (Nine Network - 1983)
See also
- Australian court hierarchy
- List of disasters in Australia by death toll
- Use of death penalty worldwide
- Federated Ship Painters and Dockers Union
- Illicit drug use in Australia
References
- ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2002. ISBN 0-19-860575-7. "convictism noun (Hist.) the system of penal settlements for convicts; the body of convicts so transported M19"
- ^ Convict Records, Ancestry.co.uk
- ^ http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,20408091-5006786,00.html Torture killer in court plea
External links
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