Data collected by the ABS on offenders provide a measure of the number of alleged offenders who come into contact with the criminal justice system at the 'investigation and charging' stage. Following the recording of a crime, as reported by a victim or detected by police, the criminal incident moves to an investigation phase where decisions are made as to whether or not an offender will be proceeded against by police.
The ABS Recorded Crime – Offenders Collection produces statistics about alleged offenders aged 10 years and over who were proceeded against by police during a financial year for all states and territories.
There were a total of 375,259 alleged offenders aged 10 years or more proceeded against by police during 2009–10 in Australia.
The most common principal offences for offenders were: Acts intended to cause injury (372 offenders per 100,000 people aged 10 years or more), Public order offences (364 offenders per 100,000 people aged 10 years or more) and Theft (327 offenders per 100,000 people aged 10 years or more) (graph 13.7).
The rate of offending for young people aged 15–19 years was the highest for any five-year age group, with 5,840 offenders per 100,000 people aged 15–19 years, compared with an overall rate of 1,940 offenders per 100,000 people aged 10 years or more. From the peak at age 15–19, offender rates decreased in a fairly consistent manner as the offender's age increased (graph 13.8).
Statistics contained in the Year Book are the most recent available at the time of preparation. In many cases, the ABS website and the websites of other organisations provide access to more recent data. Each Year Book table or graph and the bibliography at the end of each chapter provides hyperlinks to the most up to date data release where available.
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This page first published 24 May 2012, last updated 11 November 2015
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OFFENDERS PROCEEDED AGAINST BY POLICE
Data collected by the ABS on offenders provide a measure of the number of alleged offenders who come into contact with the criminal justice system at the 'investigation and charging' stage. Following the recording of a crime, as reported by a victim or detected by police, the criminal incident moves to an investigation phase where decisions are made as to whether or not an offender will be proceeded against by police.
The ABS Recorded Crime – Offenders Collection produces statistics about alleged offenders aged 10 years and over who were proceeded against by police during a financial year for all states and territories.
There were a total of 375,259 alleged offenders aged 10 years or more proceeded against by police during 2009–10 in Australia.
The most common principal offences for offenders were: Acts intended to cause injury (372 offenders per 100,000 people aged 10 years or more), Public order offences (364 offenders per 100,000 people aged 10 years or more) and Theft (327 offenders per 100,000 people aged 10 years or more) (graph 13.7).
The rate of offending for young people aged 15–19 years was the highest for any five-year age group, with 5,840 offenders per 100,000 people aged 15–19 years, compared with an overall rate of 1,940 offenders per 100,000 people aged 10 years or more. From the peak at age 15–19, offender rates decreased in a fairly consistent manner as the offender's age increased (graph 13.8).