Reports of sexual assault in New South Wales have surged by 42% over the past five years, as per data from the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (Boscar). The quarterly update indicates an average annual increase of 9.2% in sexual assault reports since 2019, culminating in a 42% rise from 2019 to March 2024.
Boscar’s report also highlights significant increases in three other major criminal offences over the same period: domestic assault (up 15%), non-domestic assault (up 8%), and motor vehicle theft (up 8.5%). Conversely, incidents of robbery, theft from motor vehicles, and malicious property damage have declined.
Jackie Fitzgerald, Boscar’s executive director, noted that sexual assault had the largest increase among the rising crime categories over the past five years. Law expert Professor Julia Quilter from the University of Wollongong suggested the increase in sexual assault reports might partly be due to recent law reforms, such as the affirmative sexual consent laws passed three years ago. She indicated that while the data could reflect a troubling rise in assaults, it might also suggest growing public trust in the criminal justice system, encouraging more victims to report assaults.
However, Quilter expressed concern about the justice system’s ability to handle the increased reports, given that only 15% of sexual assault reports to police in 2018 resulted in charges, and a mere 7% led to convictions. Boscar’s update also revealed that in the two years leading up to December 2023, only 7% of sexual assault cases had legal proceedings commence within 90 days of the report.
In addition to crime rates, Boscar’s update examined policing activities over the past five years, noting a significant increase in Taser use by the NSW police force, averaging a 15% annual increase. Most of this rise involved officers using Tasers to “draw and cover” without firing. In contrast, police searches, including strip searches, have decreased by 14% annually on average, with strip searches specifically falling by 13%.
