The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) has released a report on crime statistics over the past two years which shows that only one of the 17 major offence categories it measures had significantly increased in that time.
The report presents data on crime reported to, or detected by, the NSW Police Force from January 1995 to June 2019, with a focus on the statistical trends for the 24 months ending June 2019.
It said that at the State level, the one major offence category that was trending upwards was ‘steal from retail store’, which saw an increase of six and a half per cent.
“This increase is largely due to more shop stealing incidents occurring at licensed premises and supermarkets,” the BOCSAR report said.
“The most commonly stolen objects are also those driving the increase, namely theft of alcoholic liquor, cosmetics, toiletries and clothing.”
BOCSAR said that of the 17 major offence categories, 15 had remained stable while one category, ‘steal from person’, was down 12.3 per cent.
It said the past two years had seen a continued increase in law enforcement activity with the number of people proceeded against to court by police rising three per cent.
BOCSAR’s 58-page report can be accessed at this PS News link.
