Criminal Law

NSW Recorded Crime Statistics 2013

ON 10 APRIL 2014, the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research released the NSW Recorded Crime Statistics 2013.

Click to access rcs2013.pdf

Statewide

  • Most major categories fell or remained stable in the 24 months to December 2013.
  • Significant downward trends were shown in seven of the major offences, including robbery without a weapon (down 11.2%), break and enter dwelling (down 13.3%), break and enter non-dwelling (down 10.5%), motor vehicle theft (down 12.9%), steal from motor vehicle (down 5.0%), steal from person (down 11.8%) and malicious damage to property (down 8.1%).
  • Increases were recorded with respect fraud (up 13.2 per cent) and indecent assault, act of indecency and other sexual offences (up 7.8%).
  • Non-domestic assaults were stable.

Greater Sydney

  • ndecent assault, act of indecency and other sexual offences increased in the Inner West (up 41.6%), the Outer South West (up 9.0%) and the South West (up 11.5%).
  • Stealing from a retail store increased more than 20% in the Northern Beaches, Outer West & Blue Mountains and Ryde.
  • Break and enter dwelling increased 23.7% in Sutherland but fell in Blacktown (down 25.8%), the Central Coast (down 23.1%), the City and Inner South (down 9.4%), the Eastern Suburbs (down 28.2%), the Inner West (down 17.7%), North Sydney and Hornsby (down 30.8%) and the Northern Beaches (down 21.3%).

Outside Greater Sydney

  • Fraud increased in Central West (up 32.8%), Coffs Harbour-Grafton (up 41.5%), Richmond-Tweed (up 18.6%) and the Southern Highlands and Shoalhaven (up 58.3%).
  • Most areas experienced either stable or falling trends.
  • Break and enter non-dwelling and motor vehicle theft were particularly fell in 9 out of 13 statistical areas.

Other changes

  • Assault police increased (up 18.1%, from 2,234 offences in 2012 to 2,639 offences in 2013).
  • Drug offences increased, including possession/use of cocaine (up 16.9%), possession/use of amphetamines (up 5.7%) and dealing/trafficking in cannabis (up 8.4%).
  • Other increases included prohibited and regulated weapons offences (up 15.2%), breach bail (up 6.0%), other offences against justice procedures (up 17.9%) and transport regulatory offences (up 20.3%).
  • Shooting incidents were highly variable but did not exhibit any upward or downward trend in the period.

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