Australia

The nature of transnational crime in Australia is closely related to Australia's geography and demographics. As an island continent, Australia lacks any shared borders. Onshore smuggling of goods and people can occur only by air or sea. The inhospitality and infertility of much of Australia's sizable terrain has concentrated its small population of 22.7 million into mostly urban areas in the southeast and southwest and along the eastern seaboard. Policing of borders is difficult because of Australia's huge maritime jurisdiction, its long stretches of sparsely populated coastline, and its small workforce. Despite its location in Oceania, legally and politically Australia has strong Western roots, having begun as an English penal colony in the late 18th century. In 2010, it ranked second in the United Nations ...