[LINK] What are our priorities?

[Jan Whitaker]

It's no wonder if there is confusion by the public. This AAP story in the 
Age today chooses to highlight the 'piracy' of videos and computer games 
over something that is a bit more important: an increase in the murder and 
assault cases for 2003 in Australia.  <shaking head>

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/02/24/1077594831157.html

Piracy hits industry for $160m
February 25, 2004

Piracy costs the video and computer game industry at least $160 million a 
year, according to the latest study of crime in Australia.

The study, Australian Crime: Facts and Figures 2003, released by the 
Australian Institute of Criminology, found that the illegal market 
accounted for one in 12 movies sold in Australia.

Figures from the Australasian Film and Video Security Office showed cinema 
and video piracy robbed the industry of $100 million in 2002, while pirated 
video games added another $60 million to lost earnings.

Software piracy accounts for around a third of the market, costing the 
industry $138.5 million in 2002.

Homicides - both murder and manslaughter - increased by 7 per cent to 363 
in 2002, equating to two victims in every 100,000 people.

Sixty-three per cent of homicide victims were male, with men aged 25 to 44 
at the greatest risk of being killed. The report said the number of male 
victims rose 10 per cent in 2002, while female victim numbers grew 5 per cent.

Assault was the most common crime in 2002, accounting for 80 per cent of 
recorded violent crimes, the report said. In 2002, there were 159,548 cases 
of assault, with 811 victims per 100,000 people.


JLWhitaker Associates
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
jwhit at melbpc.org.au  --  http://member.melbpc.org.au/~jwhit/whitentr.htm
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