Skip to main content skip navigation
  • Account
    • Login
    • Manage
  • Subscribe
    • JUSTINFO
    • Register
  • Shopping Cart
  • Contact Us
    • Email
    • Feedback
    • Chat
    • Phone or Mail
  • Site Help
National Criminal Justice Reference Service
Office of Justice Programs header with links to bureaus/offices: BJA, BJS, NIJ, OJJDP, OVC, SMART Office of Justice Programs BJA BJS NIJ OJJDP OVC SMART Office of Justice Programs
Advanced Search  Search Help
    Browse By Topics  down arrow
  • A–Z Topics
  • Corrections
  • Courts
  • Crime
  • Crime Prevention
  • Drugs
  • Justice System
  • Juvenile Justice
  • Law Enforcement
  • Victims
CrimeSolutions
Add your conference to our Justice Events calendar
  • ABOUT NCJRS
  • OJP PUBLICATIONS
  • LIBRARY
  • SEARCH Q & A
  • GRANTS & FUNDING
  • JUSTICE EVENTS
Home / Publications / NCJRS Abstract

PUBLICATIONS

Register for Latest Research

Stay Informed
Register with NCJRS to receive NCJRS's biweekly e-newsletter JUSTINFO and additional periodic emails from NCJRS and the NCJRS federal sponsors that highlight the latest research published or sponsored by the Office of Justice Programs.

NCJRS Abstract

The document referenced below is part of the NCJRS Virtual Library collection. To conduct further searches of the collection, visit the Virtual Library. See the Obtain Documents page for direction on how to access resources online, via mail, through interlibrary loans, or in a local library.

1 record(s) found

 

NCJ Number: 140950 Find in a Library
Title: Homicides and the Death Penalty in Australia -- 1915-1975
Journal: Criminology Australia  Volume:3  Issue:3  Dated:(January-February 1992)  Pages:19-25
Author(s): J Walker
Date Published: 1992
Annotation: The general deterrence theory holds that the use of the death penalty will reduce the levels of capital crimes while abandonment of capital punishment will conversely lead to an increase in capital offenses. Australian homicide data for the period between 1915 and 1975 are studied to test this hypothesis.
Abstract: There were problems obtaining a sequence of data on rates of capital crimes in Australia covering a period when capital punishment was being used and uncontaminated by possible changes in the way the data were defined or compiled. There are also difficulties arising from the confusion between incidents of crime and offenses, as well as questions of how accurately recorded crime figures reflected the true crime rate at the time of the offense. This analysis used causes of death figures; the trend in homicides was plotted and the mathematical slope of the curve measured. The changes in slope over 1- and 5-year periods were calculated to determine the relationship between numbers of executions and subsequent rates of capital offenses. The analysis showed little support for the deterrence theory, either for an effect lasting 1 year or an effect lasting 5 years. In general, there was no effect on the homicide rate whether executions took place in a given year or not. 3 tables and 5 figures
Main Term(s): Capital punishment; Deterrence effectiveness
Index Term(s): Australia; Homicide trends
Page Count: 6
Format: Article
Type: Survey
Language: English
Country: Australia
Note: US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, International Crime Statistics Program
To cite this abstract, use the following link:
http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=140950

*A link to the full-text document is provided whenever possible. For documents not available online, a link to the publisher's website is provided. Tell us how you use the NCJRS Library and Abstracts Database - send us your feedback.




Find in a Library

You have clicked Find in a Library. A title search of WorldCat, the world's largest library network, will start when you click "Continue." Here you will be able to learn if libraries in your community have the document you need. The results will open in a new browser and your NCJRS session will remain active for 30 minutes. Learn More.

You have selected:

This article appears in

In WorldCat, verify that the library you select has the specific journal volume and issue in which the article appears. Learn How.

Continue to WorldCat

You are about to access WorldCat, NCJRS takes no responsibility for and exercises no control over the WorldCat site.

 
Office of Justice Programs Facebook Page  Twitter Page
  • Bureau of Justice Assistance Facebook Page Twitter Page
  • Bureau of Justice Statistics Twitter Page
  • National Institute of Justice Facebook Page Twitter Page
  • Office for Victims of Crime Facebook Page Twitter Page
  • Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Facebook Page Twitter Page
  • Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking Facebook Page Twitter Page
Contact Us | Feedback | Site Map
Freedom of Information Act | Privacy Statement | Legal Policies and Disclaimers
USA.gov | CrimeSolutions
Department of Justice | Office of Justice Programs