The Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) is Australia's national research and knowledge centre on crime and justice. The Institute seeks to promote justice and reduce crime by undertaking and communicating evidence-based research to inform policy and practice.
The AIC was established in 1973 under the Criminology Research Act 1971. Since July 1, 2011 the Australian Institute of Criminology, a Commonwealth statutory authority, is regulated under the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (FMA Act).
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.
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.
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
AIC newsletter: Brief
Australian crime: facts and figures
Annual reports: AIC
Monitoring reports
Research and public policy series
Research in practice papers
Technical and background series
Trends and issues in crime and criminal justice series
