Murders are up almost 40 per cent as New South Wales also sees a rise in domestic violence, cocaine use, and indecent assault, shock new crime stats reveal
- Latest NSW crime figures released by Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research
- Murders have soared by 39.6 per cent in the two years leading up to March
- Reported cases of domestic assaults and indecent assaults are also on the rise
- Categories such as robbery, break and enter, stealing and fraud remain stable
Some alarming new trends have been revealed in the latest New South Wales crime figures released on Wednesday.
The number of murders have soared by 39.6 per cent in the two years leading to March, according to the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOSCAR).
Other worrying trends include the rise in reported cases of domestic assaults, which saw a six per cent spike while indecent assaults and acts of indecency have risen by 5.8 per cent.
NSW has seen a six per cent rise in reported cases of domestic violence in the last two years (stock image)
Cocaine and amphetamine offences also rose by 7.7 and 8.4 per cent respectively.
Other crime categories such as robbery, break and enter, stealing and fraud remain stable while offensive language (down 16.7 per cent), arson (14 per cent), and cannabis offences (5.6 per cent) dropped.
In the last BOSCAR figures released in March, crime across most of NSW had either remained stable or fallen over the last two years.
There are some worrying trends in the new BOSCAR figures released on Wednesday
'In the 24 months to December 2018 none of the 17 major offences were increasing, two were trending downward and the remaining 15 offences were stable,' the report stated
BOCSAR executive director Dr Don Weatherburn wasn't surprised at the latest figures.
'In the 12 months to March 2018, we had an unusually small number of murders (53). The number last year (74) is closer to what we've experienced over the last five years. Ten years ago we were experiencing between 80 or 90 murders a year,' he said.
'The rise in DV assault is also likely to be a case of increased reporting rather than increased domestic violence.
'Domestic assaults occasioning grievous bodily harm (GBH) are much more reliably reported than less serious forms of assault.
'Domestic assaults occasioning GBH have remained stable over the past two years. Since 2001, they have come down by 28 per cent.'
The Baulkham Hills and Hawkesbury regions in Sydney's north-west are among city's crime hotspots with 57.3 per cent increase in break and enters.
Break and enters have jumped by almost a third in Sydney's outer west and Blue Mountains, while shoplifting on the Northern Beaches is up by a quarter.
Areas seeing the biggest spike in reported cases of domestic assault include the Northern Beaches (19.4 per cent), Sydney's south-west (12.7 per cent), Blacktown (10.7per cent) and Sydney's Outer South West (seven per cent).
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Reports of domestic violence are also up in seven of the 13 NSW regional areas, including a 26.8 per cent rise in the state's Far West and Orana regions.
The indecent assault, including Baulkham Hills & Hawkesbury (up 44.7%), Sutherland (up 33.9%) and Outer South West Sydney (up 21.2%).
But there is some good news for people in living the Shire, where house break and enters are down 22.2 per cent in Sutherland, along with non-dwelling break and enter (32.8 per cent) and stealing from motor vehicle (28.6 per cent).
As well as an increases in reported incidents of domestic violence, the state's Far West and Orana also experienced significant increases in motor vehicle theft (up 19.7 per cent), stealing from a dwelling (10.2 per cent) and fraud (up 21.5 per cent).
Cocaine and amphetamine offences have risen by 7.7 and 8.4 per cent respectively (stock image)
NSW Police says it will continue to work hard to combat domestic violence, and even one murder was one too many.
'Domestic and family violence is one of the most challenging crimes facing police and we are focusing our resources to target this specific area,' Assistant Commissioner Mark Jones said.
'With this report, we have noted that domestic violence murder matters involving non-intimate relationships have increased more so than those in intimate relationships. These relationships include relatives, carers, and those who reside together.'
NSW Police have launched a series of initiatives and stressed the need for a whole-of-community approach to break the cycle of domestic violence.
'These initiatives only work with a steady supply of information from the community. We all have a responsibility to report any suspected domestic violence incidents,' Assistant Commissioner Jones said.
