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It should not surprise anyone that the Australian jailing rates of people of different countries of birth varies and varies greatly. I set about compiling such a list of these jailing rates when I learnt this week that statistics on crime by country of birth are not readily available. At the time I was seeking material for a column and blog on our national reluctance to deport visitors who prey on us criminally.

I compiled the list here by marrying country-of-birth statistics in an Australian Bureau of Statistics report, Prisoners in Australia 2008, with 2006 census figures for population by country of birth. In yesterday's blog I told how people in Australia who were born in Italy are the least likely to commit a serious crime, or more accurately are the least likely to be jailed for a serious crime, with one in 2620 of them being in jail for such a crime in 2007/08. Here is the full list of 30:

1. Italy (one in )2620. None jailed for robbery.

2. India 2195. High murder rate, at 14th.

3. Netherlands 2192. High sex assault, 17th; no robbery.

4. South Africa 1964. High drug crime, 14th.

5. Greece 1896. Relatively high murder and drugs; low robbery.

6. Germany 1868. 15th in sex assault.

7. UK 1632. Low drugs.

8. Sri Lanka 1596. 19th in sex assault; lowest drug crime.

9. The Philippines 1545. Low sex crime.

10. Malaysia 1465. No robbery; low sex crime, 4th.

11. Hong Kong 1305. High drug crime, 17th.

12. China 1208. No sex crime; 20th for drug offences.

13. Singapore 999. No robberies; high drug crime, 26th.

14. United States 907. No robbery.

15. Canada 810. No robbery.

16. Yugoslavia 730. Murder 21st, drugs 23rd.

17. Australia 637. Low drugs, 6th.

18. Thailand 598. No sex assault.

19. Cambodia 570 (in front of Iraq by a whisker). No sex assault; high drugs, 28th.

20. Iraq 570. Lower for robbery, 13th.

21. New Zealand 514. Lower drugs, 12th.

22. Turkey 395. Higher murder, 27th; lower robbery, 12th.

23. Fiji 394. Very low drugs, 4th.

24. Papua New Guinea 387. Lower robbery, 14th; lower drugs, 15th.

25. Sudan 380. Low drugs at 11th.

26. Lebanon 358. Lower sex assault, 12th.

27. Romania 266. No murder; no sex assault; lower robbery, 15th; second highest drugs, 29th.

28. Vietnam 233. Highest drugs; low sex assault, 8th.

29. Samoa 173. Second highest murder; lower drugs, 13th.

30. Tonga 137. Highest murder; high sex assault, robbery, drugs.

Is there a point at which the criminal record

of certain nationalities of migrants and visa-free visitors to Australia becomes unacceptable? Or should we smile a welcome while being murdered, sexually assaulted, robbed and beaten?

Posted By: Jeff Corbett on 28/07/2009 5:54:00 PM | Comments (29)

comments

Date: Newest first | Oldest first

Jeff, thanks for the list, quite comprehensive and you were right, a few supprises there that goes against the typical stereotypes. Perfect example, Lebanese crime rate with low sexual assult. There was much hype of their gang rape etc, but the disproportion of low sexual assult is quite supprising to say the least. The other supprise is the number of Aussie born behind bars, another interesting list would be their ansestors nationality, but i will have to do that investigation myself. There are some very concerning numbers there though and alot of improvement needs to occur with most nationalities mentioned, including local born products. Sterling work there Jeff.

Posted by Nafe, 29/07/2009 10:09:11 AM

"Smile a welcome while being murdered, sexually assaulted, robbed and beaten" - a career for ACA awaits Jeff. So what does this actually prove? Are all Vietnamese immigrants assumed to be junkies? Tongans thugs and thieves? Why not treat all individuals visiting or applying to live in our country equitably and on a case by case basis on their personal records. Am I missing something here?

Posted by stevo, 29/07/2009 10:51:35 AM

I agree that every individual applying to visit or live in Australia should be assessed as an individual, that the same criteria should apply to all. Many people, and among them some from groups with abysmal records of crime in Australia, avoid the individual test and the general criteria by coming to Australia from New Zealand. That open door should be closed.

Posted by Jeff Corbett on 29/07/2009 11:22:06 AM

Jeff, Eg; What if you were born in Italy but raised in Tonga ? Regardless of where their born, what's the punishment they recieve after they commit the crime ? What are the re-offend rates in these countries ? Are re-offend rates lower in countries where punishment is harsher ?

Posted by Colin O., 29/07/2009 10:53:23 AM

ColinO, i'm sure, where punnishments are harsher, the reoffence rate is quite alot less. See, if you say, go to Thailand and smuggle drugs, you get hung, hence zero possibility of reoffending. Or in UAE, you steal something, you get your hand cut off, i guess there is a possibility of reoffending 1 more time, but thats is unless you can run away holding things with your toes.

Posted by Nafe, 29/07/2009 12:56:51 PM

I think a few people are missing the subject line here, which is, there is a loop hole which allows people into Australia via NZ without the usual scrutineering, agree this loop needs to be closed.

Posted by Bob.G, 29/07/2009 1:30:28 PM

Here's an idea - from your website - maybe we should stop men at immigration based on their names http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/p arenting/baby/bad-boy-names -20090714-djmm.html?s_rid=xpromo: bad-boy-names:eb:baby:28jul 09:4aug09

Posted by stevo, 29/07/2009 2:22:08 PM

stop arguing everyone . over 75% of people know that statistics never lie. and by the way nafe,harsher penalties does not equate to lower crime .just look at the states in USA with the death penalty,they have the highest murder rates.would you rather stop crime or exact revenge on criminals?

Posted by catlicker, 29/07/2009 2:29:31 PM

I like revenge actually. Cheers

Posted by Nafe, 29/07/2009 3:16:03 PM

Nafe, you are talking about the incapacitation effect. Death is definitely incapacitating but if the alternative sentence is 30yrs prison the drop in crime from the death penalty does not occur until 30yrs 1 day. Catlicker, agreed that the states in the US with the death penalty don’t seem to enjoy reduced crime rates. Maybe because death row is dominated by poor African Americans, the mentally ill and 30% are innocent. However, studies in the US have shown that in states were there is a big difference between penalties under juvenile justice and the adult system young offenders commit far less crime once they reach the age when they can be tried under the adult justice system. The threat of penalties and prison is a deterrent to crime but there is not a simple solution in raising penalties.

Posted by Ed, 29/07/2009 3:50:00 PM

Jeff you have been the victim of crime many times yourself, particularly theft. I remember when your bike was stolen and with a bit of investigation found it yourself and rode it home from the thief's place. What nationality was the bike thief?

Posted by chaff and oats, 29/07/2009 3:56:53 PM

The fellow I caught riding the bike was Australia-born Australian, about 25 years old, and well known to police, one of the reasons we're 17th in the list!

Posted by Jeff Corbett on 29/07/2009 4:15:44 PM

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