Exploring the causes and consequences of the Australian crime decline: A comparative analysis of the criminal trajectories of two NSW birth cohorts

In their analysis of recent crime trends, Weatherburn and Holmes (2013) make a number of important empirical observations about the NSW experience of the international crime-decline. Specifically, the authors note that between 2000 and 2012, NSW experienced a 50 percent decline in the rate of theft and a 33 percent decline in the rate of robbery declines for which Clancey and Lulham (2014) estimate have so far produced a saving of $5.15 billion to the NSW community. Like most other Australian states and territories (ABS Recorded Victims 2013), NSW is currently in the midst of the largest and most protracted decline in crime on record; an experience it shares with New Zealand (Mayhew 2012), Canada (Oimet 2002), the USA (Zimring 2007) and much of Western Europe (Aebi & Linde 2010).