Formed 1973 (1973) Website aic.gov.au | Employees 48 | |
Parent department Attorney General's Department | ||
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 by undertaking and communicating evidence-based research to inform policy and practice.
Contents
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
An Australian Government agency, the AIC was established in 1973 and operates under the Criminology Research Act 1971. The Director reports to the Minister and the Institute's activities and grants are advised by the Criminology Research Advisory Board that comprises distinguished criminal justice practitioners from around Australia.
The Director and Chief Executive of the Institute is Dr Adam Tomison.
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. These are national monitoring programs which cover homicide, firearms theft, armed robbery, drug use, deaths in custody, fraud against the Commonwealth, anti-money laundering and human trafficking.
The second category of research is crime and justice projects, Recent crime and justice projects cover topics such as violent crime, drugs, transnational and organised crime, economic and high tech crime, the criminal justice system, and capacity building.
Publications
The Australian Institute of Criminology has been a significant criminal justice publisher since the mid-1970s. Publications cover a range of broad subject areas—corporate crime and fraud, corrections, courts, crime prevention, cybercrime, drugs, transnational crime, policing, property crime, sex crimes, social groups and crime, and violence.
Current series
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 35,000 books and 1,440 serial titles, comprising journals, magazines, annual reports and other report series.