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| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1969 |
| Type | Agency |
| Jurisdiction | New South Wales |
| Headquarters | 6 Parramatta Square, 10 Darcy Street,Parramatta,NSW,Australia |
| Minister responsible |
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| Agency executive |
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| Parent Agency | Department of Communities and Justice |
| Website | BOCSAR |
TheBureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR), also known asNSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, is anagency of theDepartment of Communities and Justice responsible for research into crime andcriminal justice and evaluation of the initiatives designed to reduce crime and reoffending in the state ofNew South Wales,Australia.
BOCSAR was established in 1969.[1]
The executive director of BOCSAR since July 2019 is Jackie Fitzgerald.[1] She took over fromDon WeatherburnPSM, who spent over 30 years in the position.[2]
The Bureau is responsible for identifying factors affecting the distribution and frequency of crime and the effectiveness of the NSW criminal justice system, and for making this information available to its clients.[1]
It develops and maintainsstatistical databases on crime and criminal justice in NSW, monitors trends in crime and criminal justice, and also conducts research on crime and criminal justice issues and problems.[1]
Statistical information and various publications of the Bureau are accessible by the public.[1]
Information about crime that is typically stored in the databases includes:[1]
Aggregated data can answer questions such as which areas have high reported crime rates, how many people are charged with a specific offence, or what penalties are imposed for specific offences.[1]
In September 2018, then director Weatherburn admitted the Bureau was at fault for releasing misleadingdrug detection results. Figures in some cases were doubled, after BOCSAR had mistakenly added positive results to searches byNSW Police. However errors like this one have been extremely rare.[3]
In early 2019, Weatherburn announced a new BOCSAR review ofcircle sentencing (a process which putsAboriginal adultoffenders before a circle ofelders, members of the community, police and the judiciary, rather than a traditional courtroom), with results due in 2020. The previous one had been published in 2008.[4]
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