Australian Crime Commission and Australian Institute of Criminology Tipped to Merge
Wednesday 29 April 2015 @ 10.51 a.m. | Crime | Legal Research
As part of the annual dance of leaks and denials that eventually turn out to be true, now a traditional part of the Federal Budget Process, the ABC News has reported that the Australian Institute of Criminology (the AIC) ". . . is soon expected to be taken over . . ." by the Australian Crime Commission (the ACC). It is reported that the measure is seen as one which will save millions of dollars and, as such, is a big shake-up in next month's Federal Budget for the two key government crime fighting agencies to be merged.
The ABC reports that Federal Justice Minister Mr Michael Keenan has said through a spokesperson that while in the recent past Audit Commissions had:
". . . made a number of recommendations for crime intelligence and information agencies which the Government is considering, . . . at this stage no decisions have been made".
The AIC through a spokesman is reported as saying in response to the merger claims that, it had long dealt with issues around efficiency dividends by the development of a flexible business strategy.
As the ABC reports:
"The AIC dealt with a series of efficiency dividends in the 2010-2012 by developing a flexible business strategy and now raises a third of its income through fee-for-service criminological research, crime prevention project design and evaluation of programs for multiple jurisdictions. Our staffing numbers have increased commensurately, . . ."
Why Merger Could Be a Problem?
A key concern reported to be held among some criminologists about the merger is that it could create a large conflict of interest and possibly compromise crucial and independent crime data. The conflict is seen to arise from the nature of the ACC's role as an investigator and evidence gatherer in the style of a Royal Commission being at odds with the more open academic research, data collection role of the AIC. A role expressed as follows on its website:
"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."
On this point of the AIC's independence, the ABC reports the comments of criminologist Rick Sarre, from the University of South Australia:
"I think that's the concern of criminologists — to ensure that the independence of the research that's been emerging for decades from the AIC is not compromised,"
As the ABC further reports, there are also concerns over the economic sense of the proposed measure when there is a massive push in Australia to get the best outcomes in reducing the costs of crime by some $36bn. The government, it is argued, if it was serious about cutting the costs of crime, should be upping the level of criminological research.
Another concern raised by the merger possibility is said to be the two very different cultures within which the two organisations currently operate. The AIC, which says it seeks to promote justice and reduce crime by undertaking and communicating evidence-based research to inform policy and practice, sees its role somewhat differently to the ACC’s powers, which are similar to a Royal Commission, can be coercive, and ". . . are used in special operations and special investigations to obtain information where traditional law enforcement methods are not successful". In short there is a fear that the AIC, an organisation currently open and public with data, could eventually be swept up in the more necessarily secretive operational mode of the ACC making AIC data possibly less objective and less easy to access in future.
What's Next?
The ABC reports the AIC merger with the ACC is expected to be confirmed in next May's Federal budget, although at this stage the Federal Government insists no final decision has been reached.
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