A small silver lining in the State’s extended battle with COVID-19 has been revealed by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR), with the offence of stealing from a person down 28.4 per cent in the 24 months to June.
In a statement, BOCSAR said its NSW Recorded Crime Statistics Quarterly Update June 2021 found that many property offences, including theft and break and enter, had not bounced back to their pre-pandemic levels after the sharp decline seen in April last year.
The Bureau said that in the 24 months to June, one of the 17 major crime categories were trending upwards, six were trending downwards and the remaining 10 were stable.
It said the offences trending downwards were steal from a person, down 28.4 per cent; break and enter dwelling, down 16.6 per cent; steal from retail store, down 13.9 per cent; fraud, down 11.5 per cent; steal from dwelling, down 9.8 per cent; and motor vehicle theft, down 8.6 per cent.
“The only major offence to show a significant upward trend in the 24 months to June 2021 was sexual assault,” BOCSAR said.
“Recorded incidents of sexual assault rose 21.0 per cent year-on-year to June 2021 (up 1,367 incidents),” it said.
“As reported last quarter, in March 2021 sexual assault reports spiked by 61 per cent in line with an unprecedented community focus on the prevalence and response to sexual violence.”
BOCSAR said the sharp increase in March was temporary, however, irrespective of the March 2021 spike, sexual assault reports had increased in the past 24 months (up 16.2 per cent year-on-year excluding the March 2021 increase).
Executive Director of BOCSAR, Jackie Fitzgerald said she expected that in the time since the data was collected, crime trends would have been significantly impacted by the current COVID-19 lockdown.
“We know from 2020 that stay-at-home orders interrupt criminal activity and lead to sharp falls in many crimes,” Ms Fitzgerald said.
“The impact of the most recent restrictions will be closely monitored in the coming months as NSW residents gradually resume regular activities,” she said.
BOCSAR’s 60-page Quarterly Update can be accessed at this PS News link.
