The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) is a
law enforcement agency
A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.
Jurisdiction
LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction.
LEAs ...
established by the
Australian federal government
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...
on 1 July 2016, following the merger of the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) and
CrimTrac
CrimTrac was a former Agency in the Attorney-General's Department that was merged with the Australian Crime Commission on 1 July 2016 to form the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission. Crimtrac had been responsible for developing and maint ...
. It has specialist investigative capabilities and delivers and maintains national
information sharing
Information exchange or information sharing means that people or other entities pass information from one to another. This could be done electronically or through certain systems. These are terms that can either refer to bidirectional ''informa ...
On 1 January 2003, the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) was established under the ''Australian Crime Commission Act 2002'', superseding the
National Crime Authority
The National Crime Authority (NCA) was an Australian law enforcement agency established in 1984 and wound up on 31 December 2002. History
The NCA was set up in 1984 in the wake of the Costigan Commission, which investigated tax evasion and orga ...
(NCA), the Australian Bureau of Criminal Intelligence (ABCI) and the Office of Strategic Crime Assessments (OSCA).
CrimTrac was established as an agency in the Attorney-General's Department in 1990.
Establishment and legal framework
On 1 July 2016, the ''Australian Crime Commission Amendment (National Policing Information) Act 2016'' (Cwlth) amended the ACC Act to implement the carrying over of CrimTrac's functions to the ACC, including the provision of systems and services relating to national policing information and nationally coordinated criminal history checks. It was formed to strengthen the country's response to crime affecting Australia.
As a Commonwealth statutory authority, the ACIC also has responsibilities under the ''Public Service Act 1999'' and the ''Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013''. The role and functions of the ACIC are underpinned by supporting legislation in each state and territory.
Roles and functions
The mission is to make Australia safer through improved national ability to connect, discover, understand and respond to current and emerging crime threats, and criminal justice issues, including the ability for police and law enforcement to access essential policing knowledge and information. The organisation is uniquely equipped as Australia's national criminal intelligence agency with investigative, research and information delivery functions. The agency works closely with a broad range of national and international partners to achieve their purpose, while taking account of criminal threats to Australia, and stakeholders' needs, the ACIC creates a national intelligence picture of crime, targets serious and organised crime, delivers information capability and services to front line policing and law enforcement, and provides crime and justice research that produces an evidence base for addressing crime in Australia. They support and collaborate closely with the
Australian Institute of Criminology
The Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) is Australia's national research and knowledge centre on crime and criminal justice. The Institute seeks to promote justice and reduce crime by undertaking and communicating evidence-based research ...
(AIC), whose director is also that of the ACIC's CEO. The AIC undertakes criminological research, which helps inform law enforcement's collective response to crime. The AIC provides independent monitoring, and research programs that enhance knowledge of crime and criminal justice issues in Australia, and it also provides strategic advice to inform policy development and reform.
The ACIC works with law enforcement partners to improve the ability to stop criminals exploiting emerging opportunities and gaps in law enforcement information. They report to the
Minister for Home Affairs
An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergenc ...
, and is accountable to and monitored and reviewed by the
Parliamentary Joint Committee
A joint committee of the Parliament of the United Kingdom is a joint committee of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, formed to examine a particular issue, whose members are drawn from both the House of Commons and House of Lords. It is a type ...
on the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission. The ACIC BoardACIC Board /ref> includes representatives of Commonwealth, state and territory law enforcement and key national security and regulatory agencies. The Board also provides strategic direction to the ACIC and is responsible for determining special operations and special investigations. They are subject to the jurisdiction of the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity (ACLEI), which is tasked with preventing, detecting and investigating law-enforcement related corruption issues.
The ACIC delivers information-sharing solutions between state, territory and federal law enforcement agencies including biometric matching, child protection, firearm services, police reference services, missing persons and domestic violence. The agency does this by bringing together essential law enforcement information from around the country and making it accessible to all Australian police and other law enforcement agencies. They also manage the National Police Checking Service, which service enables controlled access to disclosable police history information from all Australian police agencies. These capabilities are specifically designed to equip police with the information they need to investigate, solve and prevent crimes. This vital information can improve an officer's decision-making and contribute to a safer Australia. The ACIC's coercive powers are used in special operations and special investigations to obtain information where traditional law enforcement methods are unlikely to be or have not been effective, and similar to those of a Royal Commission, authorise examiners, who are appointed by the
Governor General of Australia
The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the Monarchy of Australia, monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.
Organisation
The ACIC head office is in the
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...
, and the agency has regional offices in each state and the
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...
. There is an ACIC presence in each Australian state and territory, and in several international locations as well. The ACIC works together with state and territory crime task forces to reduce the threat of high-risk targets operating in and impacting Australia.
Services
The ACIC has a variety of services at their disposal, such as Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network, Biometric and Forensic Services, Child protection, Firearms services, Domestic violence, National Criminal Intelligence System, and the National Police Checking Service.
See also
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Crime in Australia
Crime in Australia is managed by various law enforcement bodies (federal and state-based police forces and local councils), the federal and state-based criminal justice systems and state-based correctional services.
The Department of Home A ...
List of law enforcement agencies in Australia
This is a list of law enforcement agencies in Australia. Law enforcement in Australia is carried out on federal, state, and local levels. This is facilitated by various different uniformed 'sworn' law enforcement agencies and 'regulatory' agencie ...