Don Weatherburn

Don Weatherburn is the hard facts man of the NSW criminal justice system ... He reminds the politicians that statistics don't lie ... A man who has blended a love of crime with a love of statistics ... He's on Justinian's couch, which is as good a reason as any to mention his new book, Arresting Incarceration 

Don Weatherburn, looking for monstera deliciosa

DON Weatherburn is the director of the legendary NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research - and has been for the last 26 years. 

Not only has he survived in the hurly-burly of the NSW public service, he's flourished and built BOCSAR into a revered institution. 

Weatherburn and his team keep on producting the data and the politicians keep on moulding it into exciting shapes. 

Weatherburn has recently produced a book, Arresting Incarceration, addressing one of our pressing sores - the alarming rate of imprisonment for Indigenous Australians. 

He examines previously unpublished data and dares to contradict some conventional wisdoms - including the parts played by racial bias and Indigenous empowerment. 

Here's the man himself, on the couch, stretched out for inspection ...

Describe yourself in three words.

Curious, good-humoured, blunt. 

What are you currently reading?

'Spirit House' by Mark Dapin. 

What's your favourite film?

Ingmar Bergman's 'The Seventh Seal'. 

What is your favourite piece of music?

Beethoven's Fifth Piano Concerto. 

Who has been the most influential person in your life ... and why? 

My mother - because she knew how to laugh at herself.

What is in your refrigerator?

Lots, because my wife has been away for a week and I wanted to prove I could keep the kids alive. 

What is your favourite website?

The Bureau of Meteorology website.

If you were on death row, what would be your request for your last meal?

Garlic prawns, whiting fillets cooked in tempura batter, a bottle of Howard Park sauvignon blanc and a large plate of nembutal. 

What words or phrases do you overuse?

Does a wild duck fly?

Was there an important opportunity that you didn't take ... and if so what was it?

I was once asked by crooked security consultant how much he'd have to pay me to access to our crime stats. I said 'nothing, they're on our website'. 

You're a psychologist by training. How did that lead to crime stats and research?

By accident. I like statistics, I like crime and I found a job that let's me apply the first to the second. 

In a nutshell, what's your prescription for the unacceptably high rates of Aboriginal incarceration?

Less parental drug and alcohol abuse, better parenting, improved school performance, more jobs. 

What is the most unexpected or disturbing finding of the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research?

How few programs reduce the rate of re-offending. 

What's your most glamorous feature?

My huge brawny torso.

If you were a foodstuff, what would you be? 

Monstera deliciosa.

What human quality do you most distrust?

Altruism.

What would you change about Australia?

The standard of political debate in State and Federal Parliament.

Whom or what do you consider overrated?

Management consultants.

What would your epitaph say? 

Illegitimi non carborundum. 

What comes into your mind when you shut your eyes and think of the word "law"?

Criminal opportunity.