Number of burglaries at a nine year low

Released
27/06/2019

The number of victims of burglary recorded by police reached a nine year low in 2018, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today.

ABS Director of Crime and Justice Statistics, William Milne, said Recorded Crime - Victims, Australia, 2018 showed there were almost 170,000 victims of burglary recorded by police in 2018.

“The number of burglaries nationally has decreased by over 20 per cent, from a peak of 215,000 in 2012,” Mr Milne said.

Five states and territories recorded decreases since 2017:

  • Victoria – down 5,815 or 13 per cent
  • New South Wales – down 1,539 or 4 per cent
  • Western Australia – down 3,114 or 9 per cent
  • Australian Capital Territory – down 407 or 16 per cent
  • Tasmania – down 319 or 10 per cent
     

“The majority of burglaries took place at a residential location (just over 70 per cent); the second most common location was a retail premises (10 per cent),” Mr Milne said.

Further information can be found in Recorded Crime - Victims, Australia, 2018 (cat. no. 4510.0) available for free download from the ABS website: https://www.abs.gov.au/.

Media notes

  • When reporting ABS data, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) must be attributed as the source.
  • The 2018 publication marks the ninth year of a new time series following a break in series for the collection in the 2010 publication.
  • A victim for the purposes of this publication is defined by the type of offence committed. This can be a person, a premises, and organisation or a motor vehicle.
  • For media requests and interviews, contact the ABS Communications and Partnerships Section on 1300 175 070 or media@abs.gov.au (8.30am - 5pm Mon-Fri AEST).
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