The Nature of Crime in NSW

Jackie Fitzgerald

NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research

Data Sources• NSW Police recorded criminal incidents - COPS data

• Victim surveys

• NSW Criminal Courts data

• Reoffending database

• Specialised Research

• Other data sources

Recorded Crime Statistics• These represent criminal incidents reported to and recorded by the NSW

PoliceAdvantages:• can collect information on a wide range of offences• can compare crime rates across areas• can compare crime rates over timeLimitations :• Omits offences which are not reported• Certain offences only show levels of Police activity eg. drugs, drink

driving• Suffers from deficiencies in Police record keeping

16 Major Offence Categories

• murder• assault • sexual assault• indecent assault• robbery unarmed • robbery w. firearm • robbery with a knife

• malicious damage

• break & enter- dwelling• break & enter- non-dwelling• motor vehicle theft • steal from vehicle• steal from dwelling• steal from person• retail theft • fraud

NSW Recorded Crime Trends 2001 - 2002

DOWN• robbery unarmed down 18%• robbery with a knife down 37%• break & enter- dwelling down 13% • break & enter-business down 21% • motor vehicle theft down 22%• steal from vehicle down 16%

UP• Retail theft up 8%

STABLE• murder stable• assault stable• sexual assault stable• indecent assault stable• robbery w. firearm stable • steal from dwelling stable• steal from person stable• fraud stable • malicious damage stable

NSW Recorded Crime Statistics1999 - 2002

Recorded Criminal IncidentsNew South WalesType of offence 1999 2000 2001 2002

Total

Rate per 100,000

population Total

Rate per 100,000

population Total

Rate per 100,000

population Total

Rate per 100,000

population

Homicide Murder* 123 1.9 103 1.6 104 1.6 93 1.4

Attempted murder 113 1.8 123 1.9 161 2.5 98 1.5

Murder accessory, conspiracy 13 0.2 7 0.1 6 0.1 4 0.1

Manslaughter - not driving* 9 0.1 13 0.2 12 0.2 9 0.1

Manslaughter - driving* 92 1.4 129 2.0 113 1.7 91 1.4

Assault 58646 916.8 62797 971.7 69165 1058.8 70663 1081.7

Sexual offences Sexual assault 3201 50.0 3615 55.9 3771 57.7 3660 56.0

Indecent assault, act of indecency 3353 52.4 3833 59.3 3635 55.6 3739 57.2

Other sexual offences 1521 23.8 1575 24.4 1582 24.2 1668 25.5

Abduction and kidnapping 401 6.3 370 5.7 467 7.1 372 5.7

Robbery Robbery w ithout a w eapon 6462 101.0 7060 109.2 8085 123.8 6639 101.6

Robbery w ith a f irearm 697 10.9 656 10.2 886 13.6 714 10.9

Robbery w ith a w eapon not a f irearm 3528 55.2 3687 57.1 4326 66.2 2749 42.1

Other offences against the person 3583 56.0 3880 60.0 5060 77.5 5811 89.0

Theft Break and enter - dw elling 77852 1217.1 82427 1275.5 80121 1226.5 69795 1068.4

Break and enter - non-dw elling 45995 719.0 50470 781.0 52328 801.0 41367 633.3

Possess implements 1564 24.5 1733 26.8 2049 31.4 1535 23.5

Receiving 2266 35.4 2126 32.9 2020 30.9 1486 22.7

Goods in custody 9568 149.6 9829 152.1 9796 150.0 8705 133.3

Motor vehicle theft 48401 756.7 52626 814.3 53925 825.5 41937 642.0

Steal from motor vehicle 77948 1218.6 91313 1413.0 90686 1388.2 76409 1169.7

Steal from retail store 21081 329.6 21283 329.3 20828 318.8 22391 342.8

Steal from dw elling 30421 475.6 32279 499.5 31623 484.1 30347 464.6

Steal from person 11592 181.2 12972 200.7 16656 255.0 19939 305.2

Stock theft 790 12.4 757 11.7 944 14.5 837 12.8

Fraud 27011 422.3 27607 427.2 33328 510.2 33947 519.7

Other theft 65063 1017.1 73861 1142.9 70521 1079.5 59850 916.2

Demand money with menaces 964 15.1 1062 16.4 979 15.0 713 10.9

Extortion, blackmail 66 1.0 56 0.9 57 0.9 54 0.8

Arson 4954 77.4 6157 95.3 7399 113.3 6749 103.3

Malicious damage to property 92264 1442.4 94564 1463.3 96781 1481.5 93041 1424.3

NSW Recorded Crime Statistics1999 - 2002

Recorded Criminal IncidentsNew South WalesType of offence 1999 2000 2001 2002

Total

Rate per 100,000

population Total

Rate per 100,000

population Total

Rate per 100,000

population Total

Rate per 100,000

population

Drug offences Possession and/or use of cocaine 200 3.1 208 3.2 469 7.2 210 3.2

Possession and/or use of narcotics 3013 47.1 2483 38.4 1102 16.9 931 14.3

Possession and/or use of cannabis 11494 179.7 11069 171.3 14486 221.8 11424 174.9

Possession and/or use of other drugs 2300 36.0 2587 40.0 3115 47.7 2503 38.3

Dealing, traff icking in cocaine 205 3.2 100 1.5 255 3.9 114 1.7

Dealing, traff icking in narcotics 864 13.5 860 13.3 467 7.1 505 7.7

Dealing, traff icking in cannabis 989 15.5 881 13.6 1031 15.8 715 10.9

Dealing, traff icking in other drugs 571 8.9 766 11.9 1096 16.8 978 15.0

Cultivating cannabis 1939 30.3 1662 25.7 1583 24.2 1502 23.0

Importing drugs 32 0.5 27 0.4 24 0.4 37 0.6

Other drug offences 3046 47.6 2788 43.1 3164 48.4 3100 47.5

Offensive behaviour Offensive conduct 3867 60.5 3806 58.9 4274 65.4 4842 74.1

Offensive language 6892 107.7 5469 84.6 6006 91.9 5712 87.4

Prostitution offences 399 6.2 424 6.6 879 13.5 615 9.4

Betting and gaming offences 13 0.2 10 0.2 24 0.4 75 1.1

Weapons offences 9370 146.5 9308 144.0 10666 163.3 9991 152.9

Against justice procedures Escapee - Corrective Services custody 103 1.6 95 1.5 98 1.5 66 1.0

Escapee - Police custody 257 4.0 221 3.4 253 3.9 188 2.9

Escapee - juvenile detention 2 0.0 1 0.0 2 0.0 0 0.0

Escapee - other custody 65 1.0 59 0.9 50 0.8 57 0.9

Breach Apprehended Violence Order 9639 150.7 11073 171.3 12030 184.2 12109 185.4

Breach bail conditions 4503 70.4 4947 76.5 7114 108.9 7864 120.4

Breach of recognizance 597 9.3 617 9.5 374 5.7 314 4.8

Fail to appear 1571 24.6 1707 26.4 2173 33.3 2073 31.7

Other offences against justice procedures 6800 106.3 6517 100.8 7204 110.3 7281 111.5

Driving offences Culpable driving 199 3.1 220 3.4 208 3.2 137 2.1

PCA 23028 360.0 23557 364.5 23933 366.4 25087 384.0

Drive w hile disqualif ied 16245 254.0 17380 268.9 19076 292.0 18403 281.7

Drive manner/speed dangerous 2693 42.1 2992 46.3 3096 47.4 2826 43.3

Other driving offences 39265 613.8 87276 1350.5 5E+05 7831.8 5E+05 8379.9

Other offences 37743 590.0 45669 706.7 54127 828.6 75606 1157.4

Clear up rates of Recorded Criminal Incidents

Recorded incidents cleared within 180 days in 2001– Murder 70.2%– Assault 64.5%– Sexual assault 33.3%– Robbery 15.7%– Break and enter 5.8%– Vehicle theft 6.9%– Steal from vehicle 3.0%– Malicious damage 16.6%

Top 10 LGAs for Break and Enter dwelling

Rank LGA No. Population Rate per 100,000

1 Bourke 183 3,670 412.9

2 Moree Plains 403 15,135 381.5

3 South Sydney 2120 88,530 336.8

4 Walgett 181 8,012 292.4

5 Leichhardt 1417 63,278 273.3

6 Newcastle 2857 142,046 253.5

7 Woollahra 1095 55,072 238.4

8 Gilgandra 90 4,539 225.2

9 Dubbo 723 37,998 168.8

10 North Sydney 1019 3,670 168.3

Age specific rate of offending – break and enter

050

100150200250300350400450500

10-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-39 40-49 50+

Rat

e pe

r 10

0,00

0

male

female

Location No. Clothing Shop 555

Public Primary school 4106 Restaurant 522

Public Sec. school 2247 Takeaway Food 440

Private school 788 General Wholesaler 365

Electronic Sales 724 Licensed Club 349

Service Station 680 Building Site / Shed 322

Motel 632 Chemist 309

Café 607 Hardware 309

Hotel/Pub 599 General Store 304

Break and Enter – non-dwelling Premises type

Break and Enter – dwelling by day of week, 2002

12.614.7 13.8 13.9 14.5

16.414.1

0.02.04.06.08.0

10.012.014.016.018.0

Sunda

y

Mon

day

Tuesd

ay

Wed

nesd

ay

Thurs

day

Friday

Satur

day

%

Crime Victim Surveys• Survey of community member’s experience of crime

Advantages:

• Estimates the true level of crime

• Calculates the proportion of unreported crime

• Can compare Australian crime rates with OS

• Victim characteristics can be obtained

• Informs about fear of crime

Limitations:

• Limited number of offences included

• Offers no information about the offender

2003 Victim Survey results

• Households % of Victims % reported– Break and enter 5.1% 72.2%– Motor vehicle theft 1.5% 93.8%

• Persons– Robbery 0.8% 52.9%– Assault 3.5% 39 %– Sexual assault (females) 0.5% 21.0%

Assault victimisation rate by age, 2003

over

8.4

6.3

4.5

2.3 2.5

0.7

4.84.1

2.52.1

1.6

0.6

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15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65 and

4.4

2.7

total

Pe

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nta

ge (

%)

male

female

Relationship with offender in most recent assault incident, 2003

38 8 11

5 9

55

25

114 7 4

14

36

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Fam

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Frie

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Did

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Per

cent

age

Male

Female

• Areas where households more likely to be broken into

– areas with more than 10% unemployment

– areas with a large population of 15-24 year old males

– cities or towns with populations over 8000

• Household types with greater B+E risk

– one parent households v two parent households

– person living alone v couple with children

– houses next to lanes/bike paths v houses not

– households on busy roads v households not

Household types with greater B+E risk

Household types with reduced B+E risk• households with people aged over 55 less

victimised• households over 100 metres from public

facilities

Perceptions of crime or public nuisance problems in neighbourhood

Problem Main problem• No perceived problem 50.3%• Housebreaking 29.3% 14.5%• Dangerous/noisy driving 29.2% 9.5%• Vandalism/graffiti 25.7% 7.5%• Louts/Youth gangs 20.9% 5.3%• Illegal Drugs 14.2% 3.7%• Car theft 18.2% 2.3%• Drunkenness 15.6% 2.1%

NSW Criminal Courts• Data collected on all NSW Local and Higher Court casesAdvantages :• Provides detailed information on offenders: gender, age,

residence, outcome, penalty• Figures are reliableLimitations:• How representative are offenders in Court?• May favour juveniles or the inexperienced• Many offences have very low clear up rates eg B&E, MVT 5%• Does not provide victim information• Figures can be affected by external factors eg cautioning

Rate of appearance in Court by age, 2001

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

10-11 12-13 14-15 16-17 18-19 20-24 25-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+Age

Nu

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0,0

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NSW Local Court Summary Statistics

    1999 2000 2001 2002

  Number of cases finalised 129,828 121,362 130,888 130,555

  Cases finalised by defended

hearing:

14.9% 15.8% 15.5% 15.7%

  Persons w. legal representation 52.2% 50.6% 54.2% 55.7%

  Persons refused bail 4.7% 4.6% 5.7% 6.3%

  Median delay (first appearance to

determination) for defended

cases (days)

 77 77 101 111

Sentencing in NSW Local Courts

1999 2000 2001 2002

% persons receiving fine 53.9 50.6 47.2 45.6

% persons sentenced to prison 6.6 6.4 6.6 6.9

Average length of imprisonment (mths) 4.8 4.9 5.2 5.5

Aboriginal persons

% persons sentenced to prison 15.2 15.0 14.8 16.3

% Average length of imprisonment 4.6 4.8 5.0 5.0

Outcome of charges in Higher CourtsAll offences % Sexual assault %

Guilty plea 4123 58.8 367 34.3

Guilty by verdict 536 7.6 138 12.9

Not guilty - by direction 107 1.5 46 4.3

Not guilty - by verdict 553 7.9 215 20.1

Remitted to local court 42 0.6 3 0.3

Accused failed to appear 185 2.6 14 1.3

No further proceedings directed - crown application 698 10.0 208 19.4

Accused deceased 9 0.1 2 0.2

Plea accepted in full discharge of indictment 309 4.4 38 3.5

Guilty plea within trial 40 0.6 8 0.7

Dismissed, section 428 1 0.0 0 0.0

Offences taken into account 367 5.2 17 1.6

Stay of proceedings 4 0.1 3 0.3

Referred to Mental Health Tribunal 40 0.6 12 1.1

Total 7014 100 1071 100.0

Sentencing drink-drivers: The use of dismissals and conditional discharges

• In NSW, convictions for drink driving incur a mandatory period of licence disqualification

• Licence disqualification, however, is avoided if no conviction is recorded against the defendant

• In the past 10 years the percentage of PCA offenders not receiving a conviction has increased

• Has this change been uniform across the State?

High range PCA dismissal/discharge by Local Court 2002

0 10 20 30 40 50NSW Court Average

WollongongNowra

WindsorKempseyPenrith

LiverpoolCampbelltown

BankstownTweed Heads

Coffs HarbourNorth Sydney

BurwoodTamworth

Raymond TerraceLismoreTorontoBelmontGosford

Newcastle

Cou

rt

Percent dismissed/discharged

Contact with the NSW Court System

•1.9% of all NSW residents aged 10+

•5.1% of all NSW residents aged 20-24

•8.4% of all male NSW residents aged 20-24

•12.8% of all Indigenous NSW residents aged 10+

•27.7% of all Indigenous NSW residents aged 20-24

Frequency distribution of number of court appearances, 1997 - 2001

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15+

% with this number court appearances

No. of persons

The Abolition of short sentences

• Between 1996 and 2001 the NSW prison population increased by 19%

• In 2001 a parliamentary committee recommended the abolition of sentences of 6 months or less

• What impact would this have?– Reduce prison population by 10 percent

– Reduce the flow of people into prison by 40 %, from 150 per week to 90 per week

– Could save between $33 million and $47 million per annum

Hung juries and aborted trials

• One in six trials in NSW District Court fail to reach a conclusion because of a hung jury or aborted trial

• Hung juries are more common among trials that:– last longer than three days; are heard in a metropolitan court; where no

adjournment is sought

• Trails are more likely to be aborted if they:– are held in Sydney; involve multiple offence counts; involve sex offences, violent

offences or fraud; if there are multiple accused; if there is a voir dire; if the trial is a jury rather than a judge-alone trial; and if no bench warrant has been issued.

• Reasons for aborting: – Evidence 43%, Juror 21%, Witness 11%, Case 7%, Accused 6%

Reducing Juvenile Crime: Conferencing versus Court

• Youth Justice Conferencing is effective in reducing juvenile crime

• Compared 590 juveniles referred to YJC hem with 9,346 juveniles dealt with by the Children’s Court

• The proportion of juveniles who re-offended was 28% lower for those who had been before a YJC.

• The number of re-appearances in court was about 24% lower among those who had originally been referred to YJC.

• Positive results also for Aboriginal juveniles

The effectiveness and cost effectiveness of the NSW Drug Court

• Drug Court participants (n=309) compared to control group (n=191)

• Findings:– Drug Court participants took significantly longer than the control group to

their first drug offence. Drug Court participants had lower rates of offending for most categories of offence.

– The per day cost for an individual on the Drug Court ($143.87) was slightly less than the per day cost for offenders in prison ($151.72).

– The main difference was in the cost-effectiveness of reducing the rate of offending. It cost nearly $5,000 more for each shop stealing offence averted using conventional sanctions, and additional $19,000 for each possess/use opiates offence averted, than it cost using the Drug Court program.