Fire-related homicides fall into two main categories: those where fire is used to kill the victim, and those where it is used to destroy the evidence.

 

A new paper by Drs. Samara McPhedran and Jeanine Baker, Australian Firearms Legislation and Unintentional Firearm Deaths, suggests that the Australian Bureau of Statistics has undercounted injury deaths, including suicides and may 'over-count' unintentional deaths, and that this may lead to skewed  statistics.   read more... 

 

 "Would banning firearms reduce murder and suicide?" by Don B Kates and Gary Mauser. download paper...

 

“Human Rights and Gun Confiscation,” by David B. Kopel, Paul Gallant & Joanne D. Eisen, addresses a human rights problem which has been generally ignored by the advocates of firearms confiscation: the human rights abuses stemming from the enforcement of confiscation or similar laws. download paper...

 

Australian Institute of Criminology - Fact Sheet: Weapons types and serious crime

Crime facts info, No. 158

 

Firearms in Australia — Background Note: a guide to electronic resources. Issued 9 August 2007.   read more...

 

UN Firearms Protocol. download paper...

Victorian Firearms Act Amendment Bill passed. Hansard PDF, see page 16

 

Firearms theft in Australia 2005–06, Samantha Bricknell and Jenny Mouzos. Research and public policy series no.82 

This report describes firearms thefts reported to police between 1 July 2005 and 30 June 2006. Its findings - 634 incidents of theft, with a total of 1,445 firearms stolen - mark another decline in the number of firearms stolen yearly in Australia, down from the 1,470 firearms reported stolen in 2004–05.    Firearms theft in Australia

 

Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice series no. 346: An examination of serial murder in Australia, Jenny Mouzos and David West. 

This report explores the serial murder phenomenon in Australia using data collected as part of the Australian Institute of Criminology's National Homicide Monitoring Program (NHMP) and earlier research undertaken at the AIC (Pinto & Wilson 1990). It reports on the characteristics of offenders and victims, including the offenders' modus operandi, and finds that the profile of serial murder in Australia is similar to that found in international research. The report suggests that further research on the profile of long term missing persons and serial murder victims should be undertaken as well as exploring offenders who commit multiple murders on separate occasions, to identify what prevented them (apart from law enforcement intervention) from committing additional murders.    Trends & Issues No. 346

AIC Fact Sheet: Serial Murder in Australia PDF

UK Home Office Report on crime, September 2007. PDF

The Human Right of Self Defence PDF

Gun Laws, Culture, Justice & Crime In Foreign Countries  Do other countries all have more restrictive gun laws and lower violent crime rates than the U.S.? How do U.S. and other countries` crime trends compare? What societal factors affect crime rates?   read more...

Human Rights and Gun Confiscation. PDF

Australian Firearms Legislation and Unintentional Firearm Deaths. read more...

AIC Fact Sheet: Storage arrangements for firearms at time of theft. PDF

Stolen Firearms Facts PDF

UK Home Office Report on crime, September 2007. PDF

AIC - An examination of serial murder in Australia. Trends & Issues in crime and criminal justice series no. 346. read more...

AIC - Firearms theft in Australia 2005–06. Research and public policy series no.82. read more...

AIC Fact Sheet: Serial Murder in Australia. PDF

Fact Sheet: United Nations Arms Embargoes. PDF

Howard Nemerov and David B Kopel: Is there a Relationship between Guns and Freedom? Comparative Results from 59 Nations. PDF   NOTE: You must subscribe to download this paper. Subscription is free.

AIC Fact Sheet: cfi165 - Storage arrangements for firearms at time of theft, 2005-06. PDF

AIC: Australian Crime: facts & figures 2007. PDF

AIC: Armed robbery in Australia: 2005. Research and Public Policy Series No. 84. read more...

New study: 1996 bans 'missed the mark'. Executive summary

ACT: Firearms Act amendments. PDF

UN: Report on Small Arms and Light Weapons 2008. PDF

AIC Fact Sheet: cfi165 –  Storage arrangements for firearms at time of theft, 2006-07.  PDF

UN: Small Arms Conference Report, 30 April 2008.  read more...

Firearms Act Amendments - Speech by Family First MP

Firearms Act Amendments - Prohibition orders, Hansard Report. PDF

The impact of Australia's 1996 firearms legislation. email author

Melbourne Institute paper: 1996 gun laws had no effect on firearm deaths. Download PDF

AIC: Trends & Issues 361  The criminal use of handguns in Australia. Download PDF

FBI: 2007 Uniform crime report. Download PDF

US Centers for Disease Control: Report on health risks of lead ammunition. Download PDF

Federal Hansard: Question on gun control by Senator Brown, Australian Greens. See pages 136-137 Download PDF

 

AIC: Homicide in Australia 2006-07: mr01 – This report presents findings from and an overview of key characteristics of the 18th annual collection of homicide data (2006-07), the most comprehensive collection on homicide in Australia, including details on victims, offenders, and incident circumstances. Australia wide, 260 incidents of homicide occurred in the year, taking 266 victims and involving 296 offenders. This was a decrease of 23 incidents and 45 victims from the previous year and is consistent with a significant long-range trend toward fewer incidents both per capita and absolutely since inception of the NHMP. read more......

 

AIC: Court outcomes for firearms offences in Australia: tbp031 – The term 'firearm offence' captures a broad spectrum of offending behaviour, from insecure storage of firearms to use in the commission of a violent crime, and hence a similarly broad spectrum of criminal conduct. The primary legislative framework for sentencing of firearm offences is based on enacted legislation in each jurisdiction that defines specific firearm-related offences, alongside minimum and maximum penalties. While offences largely relate to use, possession, ownership, registration, purchase, sale and storage of firearms, jurisdictional variation occurs in the range and classification of these offences....   read more...

Enhancing Evidence-based Policy:  Principles and Practice from a Case Study of Australian Firearms Legislation. Executive Summary

South Australia abandons due process in face of imaginary bikie threat. PDF

AIC: Criminal use of handguns in Australia ─ Trends & Issues 361. PDF

AIC: Firearms theft in Australia: PDF ─ The National Firearms Theft Monitoring Program (NFTMP) was established at the Australian Institute of Criminology following a recommendation by the (then) Australasian Police Ministers' Council Firearms Policy Working Group for the long-term monitoring of firearm theft. The program is funded by the Australian Government under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 for a period of four years, starting 1 July 2006. This report represents the second in the NFTMP-funded series and the third examining annual firearm theft data. From 1 July 2006 to 30 June 2007, 626 incidents of firearm theft were reported to police, with a total of 1,526 firearms stolen. Around half of these incidents resulted in the theft of a single firearm; in the majority of these, the firearm was registered, and the owner was in possession of an appropriate firearm licence. Rifles comprised 57 percent of stolen firearms; shotguns, a quarter; and handguns, seven percent. The majority of thefts targeted private residential premises, and one in ten thefts were from vehicles or business premises.

Is the NSW assault rate higher now than it was during the 1990s? ─ CJB127 PDF  Executive Summary:  The rate of police-recorded assault more than doubled in NSW between 1990 and 2007. This bulletin investigates whether the increase was due to a genuine increase in violence or an increase in the amount and/or type of violent behaviour coming to police attention. Trends and patterns in police-recorded assault from 1995 to 2007 are supplemented with crime victim survey data, hospitalisations data and a selection of narratives for assault incidents. Over the period, rates of assault increased for both males and females and for all age groups. Increases occurred in both aggravated and common assault, assault with a weapon and without, in all statistical divisions and premise types.

ABS: 4510.0 Recorded Crime - Victims, Australia, 2008 ─ PDF

AIC: Unlawful entry with intent (UEWI) chart. - read more......

AIC: Knives used most in service station robberies ─ Trends and Issues 373. PDF

UN: Small Arms Survey 2009.  The Small Arms Survey is located at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland. Established in 1999, the project is supported by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and by sustained contributions from the Governments of Belgium, Canada, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The Survey is also grateful for past and current project support received from the Governments of Australia, Denmark, France, New Zealand, and the United States, as well as from different United Nations agencies, programmes, and institutes.   read more......

Private security in Australia: trends and key characteristics –  Trends and Issues 374. PDF The use of private security in crime prevention and law enforcement activities has grown to a point where security personnel outnumber police by more than two-to-one. This paper examines the size and scope of the security industry both locally and internationally. Using ABS census data, it provides a detailed and up-to-date picture of the security industry and makes key comparisons with police. Findings show that in Australia in 2006, there were 52,768 personnel employed full-time in the security industry, compared with 44,898 police.

A review of suicide statistics in Australia - Injury research and statistics series #49: PDF A review of suicide statistics in Australia is a detailed report on the statistical processes used to track national suicide rates. Suicide is a matter of considerable public interest and policy significance so reliable statistical information on suicide occurrence is important. This report examines in detail the current methodologies used to track suicide rates, identifying issues with the process of suicide reporting and the extent of, and reason for, any under-enumeration of suicide. Revised estimates are provided and the report provides advice for the future statistical monitoring of suicide and self harm in Australia. This report provides a unique insight into the limitations of current data on suicide rates.

AIC: Firearms theft in Australia 2007-08 - Monitoring Reports No. 8: PDF The National Firearm Theft Monitoring Program (NFTMP) was established at the Australian Institute of Criminology to monitor the number of firearms reported stolen in Australian states and territories and to examine the nature and characteristics of these thefts. This report represents the fourth in the NFTMP series and illustrates a consistency in the pattern of firearm thefts across Australia between 2004-05 and 2007-08. The total number of firearms reported stolen has remained below 2,000 during this period, with a noticeable increase occurring only in the most recent year. A total of 1,712 firearms, from 708 individual theft incidents, were reported stolen to police during 2007-08.

Reasons to Question the 740,000 Factoid being used to Promote the Arms Trade Treaty. ABSTRACT: Currently, the United Nations is drafting an Arms Trade Treaty to impose strict controls on firearms and other weapons. In support of hasty adoption of the Treaty, a UN-related organization of Treaty supporters is has produced a report claiming that armed violence is responsible for 740,000 deaths annually. This Article carefully examines the claim. We find that the claim is based on dubious assumptions, cherry-picking data, and mathematical legerdemain which is inexplicably being withheld from the public. The refusal to disclose the mathematical calculations used to create the 740,000 factoid is itself cause for serious suspicion; our own calculations indicate that the 740,000 figure is far too high. Further, while the report claims that 60% of homicides are perpetrated with firearms, our review of the data on which report claimed to rely yields a 22% rate. The persons responsible for the report have refused to release their homicide calculations, or any other calculations. This Article also shows how a narrow focus on restricting firearms ownership continues to distract international attention from life-saving, viable solutions. We propose some practical alternatives which have already saved lives in war-ravaged areas.  

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The Arms Trade Treaty: Zimbabwe, The Democratic Republic of the Comgo, and the Prospects for Arms Embatgoes on Human Rights Violators. David B. Kopel, Paul Gallant and Joanne D. Eisen

ABSTRACT: Advocates of the proposed United Nations Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) promise that it will prevent the flow of arms to human rights violators. This Article first examines the ATT and observes that the ATT, if implemented as promised, would require dozens of additional arms embargoes, including embargoes on much of Africa. The Article then provides case studies of the current supply of arms to the dictatorship in Zimbabwe and to the warlords in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The Article argues that the ATT would do nothing to remediate the conditions that have allowed so many arms to be acquired by human rights violators. The ATT would have no more effective force than the embargoes that are already imposed by the U.N. Security Council; therefore U.N. member states, including China, which violate current Security Council embargoes, could just as well violate ATT embargoes. Accordingly, the ATT is a distraction, and human rights activists should instead examine alternative methods of addressing the problem of arms in the hands of human rights violators.

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