Offense Against Students

Updated on: Saturday, August 13, 2011

The Australian High Commission welcomes the release of a detailed study by the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) for crimes against Indian and other international students in Australia.

Since the study is a statistical analysis, it does not directly assess the motivation behind the attacks. But its findings are fully consistent with what an official of the Australian High Commission said at the media coverage regarding attacks on Indian students.

According to the official, “While some of the attacks may have been racially motivated, the majority of incidents were examples of opportunistic urban crime. The higher rates of robbery against Indian students are also consistent with what we have been saying for some time, namely, that the risk profile of Indian students in Australia is higher than other international students because of their greater representation in higher risk occupations, especially shift work as taxi drivers, in service stations and convenience stores.”

The official further said, “Gender is another factor since in Australia young males are generally more likely to be victims of crime. About 70 per cent of Indian students are male compared to the 50 per cent other international students. The commissioning by the Australian government of this detailed study indicates the seriousness with which we consider the safety of international students and our determination to ensure their well being.”

The official added, “This is reflected in the international student strategy we have put in place and the steps we have taken in the areas of law enforcement, closure of inadequate education institutions and additional student welfare measures, including a 24-hour hotline and drop-in centres. The study covers 4,20,000 students over the period January 1, 2005-December 31, 2009, cross matching student visa data with police crime victim data. It analyses crimes against international students from the five largest source countries: China, India, Malaysia, South Korea and the US comparing crime rates across these groups and with the general community.”

The full study is available on the AIC website at www.aic.gov.au

Offense Against Students

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