The opening section on crime addresses issues in measuring crime, the findings of crime victim surveys, crimes known to police, and crime location. Victim survey findings show that of the estimated 2,322,600 households in New South Wales in April 1997, 198,400 (8.5 percent) were victims of at least one break- and-enter or attempted break-and-enter offense in the 12 months prior to the survey; 45,900 household (2 percent) were victims of at least one motor vehicle theft. Police data show that break- and-enter incidents were the most common offense, accounting for 18.3 percent of all offenses. The following individual offenses are profiled in one section of the booklet: drug offenses, homicide, assault, sexual offenses, break-and-enter, robbery, motor vehicle theft and stealing from motor vehicles, and domestic violence. A section on the criminal courts presents the structure of the criminal justice system in New South Wales, followed by a review of trends in criminal court appearances. Data are reported on offenders' ages, court workload, court delay, bail, plea, proven offender rates, appeals, sentencing, imprisonment, and life sentences. Data are also provided on the inmate population and the cost of criminal justice. 24 references and a list of recent reports of the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research