Crime and justice research Crime research

The Summary of criminal justice reforms relating to domestic and family violence, 2015–early 2020 report offers a summary of criminal justice reforms in Queensland related to domestic and family violence following the release of the Not Now, Not Ever report in 2015, until early 2020. It provides additional context to other research undertaken by the Queensland Government Statistician’s Office about domestic and family violence in Queensland.

The COVID-19 and DFV assault offence trends paper describes research undertaken to determine if Queensland’s recorded DFV assault rates changed following the implementation of COVID-19 containment measures. The research found no evidence to suggest significantly higher than expected rates of DFV assault and breach of domestic violence offences between March 2020 and September 2020 when examining police data.

The Victimisation from personal crime in Queensland research report shows how the prevalence of victimisation and revictimisation differs across different demographic groups. Analyses show that:

• the rate of victimisation from personal crime (such as assault, robbery, sexual offences and homicide) decreased in Queensland, when comparing 2008–09 and 2018–19
• victimisation is a gendered phenomenon, with female victims more likely than male victims to experience revictimisation and repeat victimisation (revictimisation including a different offender)
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (and females especially) are overrepresented as victims of personal crime, and among those who experience revictimisation
• the time between victimisations was shorter for people revictimised by the same offender (repeat victimisation) than those revictimised by a different offender.

The Crime research agenda sets out the crime research priority areas of the Queensland Government Statistician’s Office.

The Applications for domestic violence orders in Queensland report explores applications made for domestic violence orders (DVOs) in Queensland between 2008–09 and 2017–18. Analyses presented in this report show that:

• increases in the number and rate of DVO applications coincided with criminal justice reform activities
• increases in DVO applications were mainly driven by applications lodged by the police, and that most police applications resulted in a protection order being made by the court
• women and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults were overrepresented as the aggrieved (the person listed as requiring protection), and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults were overrepresented as the respondent (the person listed as using domestic or family violence)
• increased applications with an older person as applicant and younger person as respondent indicated a possible increase in elder abuse.

The Breaches of domestic violence orders in Queensland report describes research examining breaches of domestic violence orders (DVOs) in Queensland between 2008–09 and 2017–18. The research found:

• an increase in the proportion of DVOs being breached
• breaches were more common among protection orders than temporary protection orders, but temporary protection orders were breached more quickly
• men and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were most commonly reported as the respondent (the person using domestic or family violence) on DVOs being breached.

The research described in the Cross applications for domestic violence orders in Queensland report examined instances where two adults in a relationship applied for a domestic violence order against each other. The research showed:

• changes in the number and rate of cross applications coincided with changes in legislation and system reform
• most cross applications involved a woman and a man, and people in intimate (rather than family) relationships
• the overrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on cross applications
• cross applications involving the police were more likely to result in a protection order being made by the court than those progressed privately
• a higher prevalence of applications being dismissed by the courts among cross applications lodged privately by men.

The research described in the Changing patterns in the age distribution of crime in Queensland report shows substantial changes in the age of offenders. When comparing 2008–09 with 2017–18:

• there were fewer offenders overall, committing more offences on average
• the decline in offenders was driven by a decrease in younger offenders, as older offender rates tended to increase
• changes in the age distribution of crime meant that young offenders (aged under 25 years) accounted for less crime in total than that in the past.

Learnings to inform the design and delivery of criminal justice programs are synthesised in the Wise practice for designing and implementing criminal justice programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples report. Four principles are discussed in relation to practice. These principles are:

• Support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ownership, engagement and oversight.
• Value, respect and strengthen Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authority and capacity.
• Commit to cultural competence.
• Provide culturally sensitive program delivery.

The Domestic and family violence calls for police service report discusses the increasing demand being placed on the Queensland Police Service in response to domestic and family violence (DFV) in the community. In 2017–18, compared with 2012–13:

• the number of calls for police service regarding DFV matters increased
• more police time was being spent on DFV matters per DFV incident
• higher growth in recorded DFV incidents was seen in the most socially and economically disadvantaged locations than that observed in the most socially and economically advantaged locations.

The Youth offending research brief outlines some of the reasons why children are treated differently to adults by the criminal justice system. The findings discussed in the brief show that:

• childhood and adolescence are periods when offending tends to escalate
• children have less mature psychological and cognitive systems when compared with adults
• children in contact with the criminal justice system tend to present with more risk factors associated with offending behaviour than adults in contact with the system.

The COVID-19 and illicit drug offence trends, March to June 2020 research brief explores illicit drug offence trends occurring after the introduction COVID-19 containment measures. Analyses presented in the brief show that:

• while most types of crime decreased, the rate of illicit drug offences increased between March and June 2020
• increases in illicit drug offences were largely driven by growth in minor illicit drug offending 
• the magnitude of growth varied across different demographic groups and locations.

Analyses presented in the Spatial and temporal distribution of reported offences in Queensland report highlight the importance of place–based criminal justice initiatives. They showed that:

• crime rates vary across location and time, but some locations consistently experienced either growing or declining crime rates between 2008–09 and 2017–18
• with the exception of drug offences, crime has become slightly less concentrated in terms of geographical distribution
• the share of crime experienced by socially and economically disadvantaged locations has increased slightly.

The Factors associated with the outcomes of community–based corrections orders summary report presents key findings from research examining community–based corrections orders in Queensland. The research showed that while there was variability in order completion across the different types of orders, overall, most orders were completed and there have been slight increases in order completion rates in recent years.