A Computer Simulation of a Court of Summary Jurisdiction
| Date | 01 September 1982 |
| Published date | 01 September 1982 |
| DOI | 10.1177/000486588201500304 |
154 (1982) 15 ANZJ
Crim
A
COMPUTER
SIMULATION
OF
A
COURT
OF
SUMMARY
JURISDICTION
Judith
Worrall"
Abstract
Simulation is a
computing
techniqueused to study
dynamic
systems
by
creatinga
"picture" of
the
working system in
the
computer. Attempts
have
been
made
to
simulate various aspects of the Criminal Justice System in
both
the United States
and
Canada. This article describes
the
first simulation of
any
aspect
of the Criminal
Justice System in Australia. It describes asimulation
model
of the Adelaide
Magistrates'
Court
and
compares
the
simulation with
data
from various sources
which can
be
used
to describe
that
system.
Introduction
Simulation is a
computing
technique
whereby
a"picture" of a dynamicsystem is
reproduced
in a computer. It is used to study the workings of existing systems or to
plan the
development
of
new
systems
prior
to their implementation.
It is possible,
once
asimulation is refined, to test the effects of changes to
the
system
without
actually introducing them.
Some
examples of systems which
have
been
successfully studied
by
simulation techniques include air traffic control,
police activity,
and
assembly lines.
There
have
been
a few
attempts
in the United States to simulate aspects of
the
Criminal Justice System.
One
simulation
model
is
JUSSIM,l
developed
by
the
Urban
Systems Institute, Carnegie-Mellon University. This
model
covers
the
whole of the
Criminal Justice System. Examples of simulation models
more
specific to the
Court
System
are
CANCOURT,2
developed
by
The
University
of
Toronto
Centre
for
Criminology,
and
a
model
developed
by
the Alabama Statistical Analysis Centre."
These
and
other
models"
map
the flow of cases through
the
stages of apprehension,
preliminary enquiry, trials
and
appeals.
As the
court
systems of Australian States differ in
many
respects from those in
America
and
Canada,
these simulation models are limited in theirapplication. This
report
describes asimulation
model
for Courts of
Summary
Jurisdiction in South
Australia, demonstratingthe applicabilityof the simulation
technique
to this
type
of
dynamic system.
The
Court
System Modelled
Although
there
are almost100
Courts
of
Summary
Jurisdiction in South Australia,
someare
very
small. I chose to
model
onlyAdelaideMagistrates' Court, which deals
with the largest
number
and
greatestvarietyof cases.
Other
courts have
fewer
cases
and
some
major
categories of offences, eg, Companies Act,
are
not
represented in
oBSc(Hons)
DipEd,
DipComSc
(Adelaide) Statistician,
Office
of
Crime
Statistics,
Law
Dept,
SA
Government.
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