The NSW Police Force has welcomed the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showing the number of victims of crime in New South Wales is stable or falling in almost all categories.

There were 119 victims of homicide recorded in New South Wales in 2012, 19% fewer than 2011 (146).  Nationally there were 3% fewer victims.  In NSW four out of five homicide victims were male, 44% knew their offender.  Incidents of murder were most likely to have occurred at a residential location (65% or 48 victims) and a knife was the most commonly used weapon.

The number of assault victims in NSW fell 3% in 2012 (68,745) compared with 2011 (71,168).  The overall victimisation rate has also fallen to 943 per 100,000 people from 975 a year earlier.  55% of recorded victims were male.  New South Wales also recorded the lowest proportion of assault victims where weapon was used (7%).

Victims of motor vehicle theft in New South Wales bucked the national trend.  Nationally it is on the increase (6% since 2011) but over the same period it has fallen about 7% in NSW.

The Acting Police Commissioner, David Hudson, says police work hard not only to solve but to prevent crime and make our community a safer place.

“It’s encouraging to see the number of crime victims continuing to fall in most categories,” Mr Hudson said.

“We have been working hard to encourage sexual assault victims to come forward.  This report indicates that those efforts have proved effective with more victims willing to report these types of offences.”

“While the overall number of crime victims has been declining over the last few years, rest assured, New South Wales Police will continue to work with the community to make our neighbourhood a safer place for everyone,” the Acting Commissioner said.