http://www.snopes.com/science/stats/ausguns.htm "Claim: Statistics demonstrate that crime rates in Australia have increased substantially since the government there instituted a gun buy-back program in 1997.
"Status: False.
"Example: [Collected on the Internet, 2001] "
Your skepticism is respected, but note the parsing, because while homicide was largely unchanged, most other violent crime increased. The claim is true regarding "crime rates" and snopes is literally (but deceptively) right regarding homicide.
"...based on a full 12 months of data: Australia-wide, homicides up 3.2 percent. Australia-wide, assaults up 8.6 percent.
"Australia-wide, armed-robberies up 44 percent (yes, 44 percent.) In the state of Victoria, homicides-with-firearms are up 300 percent. (Up until the government gun grab, figures for the previous 25 years had shown a steady decrease in homicides with firearms, as well as armed robberies, Mr. Tidswell notes.)"
http://www.mannkal.org/intentdetail.asp?Code=2
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics website, murders have fallen from 312 in 1996 to 284 murders in 1998, after experiencing a slight increase in 1997, from 312 to 321. [Back up to 318 in 2002]
However, almost every other form of crime in Australia has increased, sometimes dramatically, in the same time period:
For instance, since the introduction of Australia's sweeping gun bans, armed robberies rose a whopping 70 percent, from 6,256 in 1996 to 10,850 just two years later. [7817 in 2002]
Unarmed robberies also rose by about 20 percent, from just over 10,100 to nearly 13,000 incidents. [13144 in 2002]
In addition:
* Attempted murders rose from 335 in 1996 to 382 in 1998 [396 in 2002]
* Manslaughter rose from 38 to 49 [45 in 2002]
* Assaults were up from 114,156 to 132,967 [159,548 in 2002]
* Sexual assaults rose slightly, from 14,542 to 14,568 [17850 in 2002]
* Kidnapping and abductions climbed dramatically, from 480 in 1996 to 662 in 1998 [696 in 2002]
Some other highlights from the 1998 Australian government crime statistics report:
* Blackmail and extortion went from 268 cases a year to 298 [344 in 2002]
* "Unlawful entry with intent (breaking into a home or business) involving the taking of property" rose by 30,000 cases, from 313,902 shortly after the ban was passed to 343,256 cases in 1998 [292,769 in 2002]
* Other "unlawful entry" cases increased during the two-year period from 88,177 to 92,414 [101,605 in 2002]
* "Motor vehicle theft" increased by 8,658 reported cases, and "other theft" rose to 565,214 from 521,762 [679,460]
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=15324 (The Austrailian governemnt moved their crime data report, and appears now to be charging $30 for it.)
2002 data:
http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs%40.nsf/e8ae5488b598839cca25682000131612/76c8926bd8a12e1fca2568a9001393f2!OpenDocument It appears from government crime date that the general lawlessness in Austriali has continued or increased. While armed assaults are down, all assaults are up, suggesting that thugs are using other means. Rapes are up. I wonder if the decline in burglaries reflects a reluctance of citizens to report them, and have cops snooping arouind to find their illegal guns.
But Snopes is wrong when it says that a crime increase is false. The crime increase is true.
Thanks much.