4509.0 - Crime and Safety, Australia, Apr 1998  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 25/08/1999   
   Page tools: Print Print Page Print all pages in this productPrint All

MEDIA RELEASE

August 25, 1999
Embargoed: 11:30 AM (AEST)
102/1999

ABS report shows how crime affects Australians

Results of the 1998 Crime and Safety Survey released today reveal that 50 in 1,000 households in Australia had their homes broken into in the 12 months prior to the survey. Twenty per cent of these households had two or more break-ins in that time.

There were 43 people in 1,000 aged 15 years and over assaulted in the 12 month period covered by the survey. Forty-five per cent of these victims experienced two or more assaults. About four in 1000 women aged 18 years and over (30,100 females) were sexually assaulted in the 12 month period. Twenty-seven per cent of these women experienced two or more sexual assaults.

About five in 1,000 people aged 15 years and over (79,100 people) were victims of robbery in the 12 months period. Twenty-three per cent of these people experienced two or more robberies.

An estimated 133,700 motor vehicle thefts occurred in Australia in the 12 months prior to the survey and 17 in 1,000 households were affected by these thefts.

For the crimes that can be compared between the 1998 survey and the previous survey in 1993, there is little difference in the prevalence of victimisation or the rates of reporting crime to the police.



Motor vehicle theft had the highest reporting rate with police being told of about 95% of most recent incidents. Assault (28%) and sexual assault (33%) had much lower reporting rates.

Males comprised just over half (54%) of all assault victims, and had higher victimisation prevalence rates than females for those aged under 25 years and similar rates for those aged 25 years and over.

The highest victimisation prevalence rates for sexual assault were for females aged 18 and
19 years (25 in 1,000 women of these ages reported being a victim of sexual assault). About 83% of females aged 18 years and over who indicated that they had been a victim of sexual assault were assaulted by someone they knew.

Further details are in Crime and Safety, Australia (cat. no. 4509.0) available from ABS Bookshops. The main features from the publication are available on this site. The ABS encourages media organisations with online news services to link to the main features. Please phone us if you need assistance to do this.