Australian Police Statistics

Official statistics are an important basis of information to assist with the recording and management of crime. Government websites such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Australian Institution of Criminology, and the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research contain numerous reports which address many different aspects of the field, such as domestic violence. There are, however, arguments that claim official statistics do not accurately reflect the true levels of crime, and therefore, are not useful in making any significant changes to Australian policy and practice. The International Violence Against Women Survey of 2002-2003 is one of many official statistical publications which look at the prevalence of domestic violence and effectively

The reliability of official statistics, especially through documents based on police data, can be hindered by a number of limitations. As police data is one of the main sources of data looked at when studying statistics, the limitations revolve around the reporting and recording of the crimes. There are instances in which the official crime statistics do not reflect the precise crime rates. (Ross, 1999) Misrepresentation can be caused by a number of different factors. For starters, the victim has to recognise and report the crime to to police, however, in some instances may not due to not realising they’ve witnessed a criminal act, their involvement or relationship to those involved, or their uncertainty that the situation will be resolved by the police. The shifts in policing policy can also have an impact on crimes such as drug related offences and traffic infringements. These rely on police detection rather than their response, and so are affected by relevant police practices. These can vary depending on the federal and state force. (Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, 2015) More specifically to domestic violence, the reasons can include: the victim not realising the seriousness of the assault; the victim believing they have handled it and that there will not be a reoccurrence; the victim is embarrassed of the

The official statistics can be used to educate about the prevalence and immorality of committing domestic abuse crimes. As the message continues to resonate through society that violence is unacceptable, younger generations are more likely to mature without considering physical abuse as an option to relieve anger. (Mouzos and Makkai, 2004) Men who supported gender equality showed far lower levels of violence than those who believed in the ‘traditional gender roles’. Likewise, women who were more ‘traditional’ were also less likely to report incidents of domestic violence. (Morgan and Chadwick, 2009) General knowledge about the benefits of feminism and gender equality could possibly lead to an increase of social disapproval. High school education related to violence could help reduce an aggressive mindset when it comes to aggravation, and in turn could decrease instances of violence towards partners, peers and strangers. (Mouzos and Makkai,