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 In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

by undertaking and communicating evidence-based research to inform policy and practice. The functions of the AIC include conducting criminological research; communicating the results of research; conducting or arranging conferences and seminars; and publishing material arising out of the AIC's work.

Structure

Australian 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 ...

agency, the AIC was established in 1973 and operates under the Criminology Research Act 1971. It is part of the Home Affairs Portfolio and accountable to the Minister for Home Affairs. The AIC works closely with the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC). The Chief Executive Officer of the ACIC is also the Director of the AIC, and although an independent entity, AIC staff were transferred to the ACIC under a Machinery of Government process in 2015. The Criminology Research Advisory Council, representing Commonwealth and state and territory justice agencies, is responsible for providing advice to the Director of the AIC on strategic priorities for research and priorities for communicating research results. AIC research is also subject to ethical standards which are governed through the oversight of an ethics committee, in accordance with National Health and Medical Research Council requirements.

Research

Undertaking research is the core function of the Australian Institute of Criminology. Research is conducted on a range of crime and criminal justice issues to provide timely, policy-relevant research to the Australian Government and other key stakeholders. Research activities fall into two main categories: national monitoring programs on homicide, drug use,

deaths in custody A death in custody is a death of a person in the custody of the police, other authorities or in prison. In the 21st century, death in custody remains a controversial subject, with the authorities often being accused of abuse, neglect, racism and ...

, and fraud against the Commonwealth; and projects on a range of crime and justice topics (see Publications below).

Publications

The Australian Institute of Criminology has been a significant

criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

publisher since the mid-1970s. Publications cover broad subject areas including violent crime, drugs, transnational and organised crime, financial crime, cybercrime, policing, crime prevention, corrections and the criminal justice system.

Current series

* Annual reports: AIC * Research reports (peer reviewed) * Statistical bulletins * Statistical reports * Trends and issues in crime and criminal justice series (peer reviewed)

JV Barry Library

Honouring Justice Sir John Vincent Barry, the distinguished Australian criminologist and jurist, the JV Barry Library is a major criminal justice information resource that provides services to stakeholders and supports the information needs of the Institute's research programs. It produces the Australian Criminology database—CINCH, an index of Australian criminal justice information. The JV Barry Library has the most comprehensive library-based collection in the field of criminology and criminal justice in Australia. The collection comprises approximately 90,000 catalogue records for books, serial titles, journal articles, annual reports and other report series.

References

External links

Australian Institute of Criminology

Online AIC library catalogue
{{Authority control 1973 establishments in Australia Commonwealth Government agencies of Australia Crime in Australia Criminology research institutes