ACT Policing have revealed that the number of sexual assaults reported in its latest quarterly crime statistics was the lowest it’s been since 2018.
Deputy Chief Police Officer, Response Commander Michael Chew said the January-to-March 2021 quarterly crime statistics showed person-to-person crimes declined when compared to the first quarter of 2020.
“Sexual Assaults declined from 122 to 106, Assaults were down from 747 to 663, and Other Offences Against a Person decreased from 82 to 65,” Commander Chew said.
“Similar decreases were noticed in the number of property crimes reported, when compared to the first quarter of 2020,” he said.
“Burglary reports decreased from 624 to 464, Robbery was down from 65 to 33, Stolen Motor Vehicles fell from 317 to 291, and reports of Property Damage declined from 1,005 to 896.”
Commander Chew said there was anecdotal evidence from ACT Policing’s service partners that there had been an increase in requests for help and information related to assaults and sexual assaults in recent weeks.
“These have not yet translated to increases in reports to police,” he said.
“I encourage any victim of any crime to let police know about it.”
Commander Chew said police took all reports of crime seriously, and would do everything they could to empower the victims of crime.
He said the latest quarterly statistics also revealed the number of Traffic Infringement Notices issued decreased from 2,780 in the first quarter of 2020 to 1,545 in the same period in 2021.
Commander Chew said the decline was, in part, due to Road Policing assisting with COVID-19 compliance at ACT’s borders.
ACT Policing’s latest quarterly crime statistics can be downloaded at this PS News link.
