– NSW Recorded Crime Statistics September 2022
Release date: Monday 12 December 2022
New statistics released today by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) show the volume of property crime recorded by police remains significantly lower than prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“For instance, in the year to September 2022 police recorded a staggering 33% fewer residential break-ins than five years ago” said Jackie Fitzgerald, Executive Director of the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research. “We know that many crimes fell sharply during the COVID lockdowns; fortunately for the community, many property crimes are yet to recover.”
By contrast, police reports of domestic violence assault and sexual assaults have shown significant increases over the last five years:
- Domestic violence assault increased 13.1% in the five years to September 2022
- Sexual assault increased 25.9% in the five years to September 2022.
The five-year increase in domestic and sexual assaults was driven by increases in both metropolitan Sydney areas and regional communities. For domestic assaults, the largest increases were seen in Murray (up 48%), Sutherland (up 45%) and Baulkham Hills (up 40%). The biggest increases in recorded incidents of sexual assault were seen in Sutherland (up 80%), Hunter Valley (up 50%), Southern Highlands (up 46%), and Inner West Sydney (up 42%).
Violent offences involving Knives and Firearms
Despite increased media attention on violent offences involving a knife or firearm, recorded crime statistics show no increase in in the year to September 2022. Jackie Fitzgerald, Executive Director at BOCSAR, said that despite suggestions of more young people getting involved in violent offending, particularly in parts of in Greater Sydney, we are not seeing this carry through to police reports. “We are actually seeing a general reduction in criminality, particularly amongst young people. Juveniles and young adults are much less like likely to be involved in crime than they were historically”.
