Chapter 1


Introduction and Background

1.1        On 13 October 2016, pursuant to a recommendation of the Selection of Bills Committee, the Senate referred the Australian Crime Commission Amendment (Criminology Research) Bill 2016 [Provisions] (the bill) to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee (the committee) for inquiry and report by 9 November 2016.

1.2        The committee inquired into and reported on the Australian Crime Commission Amendment (Criminology Research) Bill 2015 in November 2015. However, the bill in question lapsed upon the prorogation of parliament in May 2016, and was not passed into law.

1.3        The provisions of this bill are exactly the same as those of the 2015 bill (save for the proposed date of commencement), however the Explanatory Memorandum (EM) accompanying this bill does differ in some respects from that which accompanied the 2015 bill.

Conduct of the inquiry

1.4        In accordance with usual practice the committee advertised its inquiry on its website, and also wrote to various organisations and individuals inviting written submissions.

1.5        The committee received 25 submissions, listed at Appendix A.

1.6        Due to the short time for conducting this inquiry the committee resolved not to hold a public hearing.

Background

1.7        The composition and functions of the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) and Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) were set out in the previous report into this bill, and will not be repeated here. By way of summary, the AIC was formed in 1973 and is a statutory authority focused on conducting criminological research. The ACC was established in 2003 to collect and analyse criminal and intelligence information, undertake intelligence operations and investigate matters relating to federal criminal activity.

1.8        As of 1 July 2016, the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) became known as the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC). The report will refer to the ACIC as the ACC, as this is the name contained in the bill, and the name by which the agency is still legally known.

Purpose of the bill

1.9        The bill seeks to provide the legislative framework for a merger of the AIC with the ACC. Specifically, the bill would:

  • insert a new definition of 'criminological research' (Item 1);
  • enable the ACC to carry out criminological research, whether or not there is a link between that research and past, present or future criminality (Item 3);
  • enable the ACC to charge fees for functions associated with criminological research (Item 4);
  • enable the Australian Crime and Justice Research Centre (ACJRC), as which the AIC area of the ACC would then be known, to access datasets and make data and research available in the same way the AIC current does (Item 5);
  • continue the Criminology Research Special Account (CR Special Account)  to ensure that the ACC continues to manage the funds associated with commissioned research in the future (Item 6); and
  • repeal the Criminology Research Act 1971, under which the AIC currently operates (Schedule 2).

1.10      The proposed merger of the AIC with the ACC is part of a broader plan to create one agency which combines the resources of a number of currently separate agencies. As the second reading speech states:

We need to find ways so that police officers doing their job can get the information they need. To do this we have created the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission. This brings our intelligence analyst capabilities together with our datasets when we merged the Australian Crime Commission with CrimTrac. We are also merging into that new entity the Australian Institute of Criminology to give the ACIC all of the resources that it needs to be able to do this job of providing timely criminal intelligence to Australia's law enforcement community.[1]

Changes to the bill since the previous inquiry

1.11      Since the committee's report to the 44th Parliament, the EM has been amended to include new information.

1.12      The EM now states that:

  • the ACC's criminological function will have a wide remit and extend beyond purely law enforcement;[2]
  • the non-legislated Research Advisory Committee, which will provide advice to the ACC Board about strategic research priorities and research grants, will consist of existing Criminology Research Advisory Council members, two law enforcement representatives, two members from the ACC, and a representative from the Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology (ANZSOC);[3]
  • having a non-legislated committee 'ensures there is flexibility to add other members if subject matter expertise would assist on particular subjects';[4]
  • the ACJRC will continue to have access to the datasets available to the AIC, and 'will continue to make that data and research available in the same way the AIC currently does';[5] and
  • the JV Barry Library will continue to exist and provide the same level of public access to its holdings, and the process of digitising of those holdings will continue following a merger.[6]

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