Crime Rates and Criminal Justice Politics in Australia

• In Event: Crime, Politics and Insecurity

Abstract

In the Australian context discussion of crime and politics has tended to tread a well-worn path built on elements of a ‘law and order commonsense’. Key themes in this have been: ‘soaring crime rates’, ‘it’s worse than ever’, the criminal justice system is ‘soft on crime’ and does not protect citizens, we need more police with greater powers, we need tougher penalties, and that victims should be able to get revenge through the courts.

Significant decreases in crime in all Australian states since around 2000 have undermined the first two claims. Falling crime rates provide the opportunity to challenge the other key elements of law and order ‘commonsense’ and fashion a more social democratic criminal justice policy. However, few inroads have been made into the dominant law and order narrative.

This lack of movement raises the vexed question of how crime rates are influenced by and influence, criminal justice and penal politics? One of the key difficulties in answering such questions in the Australian context is the federal structure under which the commonwealth government has primary responsibility for economic and social policy while state governments have major responsibility for day to day criminal justice policy and sole responsibility for prisons.

Author

• David Brown, University of New South Wales