While incidents of crime in the Shire rose during the last two years, the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOSCAR) has classified the region as stable.
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The 24-month trend from January 2015 to December 2016 for the Bellingen Shire Local Government Area offences are as follows:
- Domestic violence related assault: 36 (2015: 32)
- Non-domestic violence related assault: 34 (2015: 26)
- Sexual assault: 7 (2015: 4)
- Indecent assault, act of indecency and other sexual offences: 8 (2015: 5)
- Robbery with a weapon not a firearm: 0 (2015: 0)
- Break and enter dwelling: 21 (2015: 17)
- Break and enter non-dwelling: 39 (2015: 42)
- Motor vehicle theft: 12 (2015: 22)
- Steal from motor vehicle: 39 (2015: 42)
- Steal from retail store: 9 (2015: 8)
- Steal from dwelling: 22 (2015: 29)
- Steal from person: 0 (2015: 2)
- Fraud: 31 (2015: 15)
- Malicious damage to property: 77 ( 2015: 65)
Statewide, the NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said the crime data highlighted the “proactive efforts by officers to drive down crime across NSW”.
“The crime figures are reflective of the hard work the NSW Police Force puts in every day to ensure public safety and prevent crime,” Commissioner Scipione said.
Of the 17 major offences monitored by BOCSAR, eight recorded a downward trend, eight remained stable and one offence recorded an upward trend; steal from retail store was up 6.4 per cent.
BOCSAR reports the offence ‘steal from retail store’ has now been trending upwards for five successive quarters.
The most frequently-victimised premises were: supermarkets 23 per cent; department stores 14 per cent, shopping complexes 13 per cent, liquor shops 9 per cent and clothing shops 8 per cent.
The most commonly-stolen items were liquor, clothing and personal items such as cosmetics and toiletries, followed by communications and electronic equipment.
There was also a significant drop throughout NSW in eight of the major categories, including:
- Robbery with a firearm down 27.9 per cent
- Robbery with a weapon not a firearm down 21 per cent
- Robbery without a weapon down 17.3 per cent
- Motor vehicle theft down 11.1 per cent
- Steal from person down 10.9 per cent
Commissioner Scipione said a large number of secondary crime categories have increased significantly this quarter due to improvements in proactive policing or detection of crime by police. These include:
- Possession and/or use of amphetamines up 11.5 per cent
- Possession and/or use of other drugs up 13.2 per cent
- Escape custody up 31.3 per cent and Breach bail conditions up 9.6 per cent
“BOCSAR notes that the increase in amphetamine possession is lower than has been reported in several years and that the monthly volume of amphetamine possession incidents has been quite stable since mid-2015,” Commissioner Scipione said.
“Also, the vast majority of incidents of ‘escape police custody’ involve an offender running away while being arrested/detained in the field.
“This also includes incidents where an attempt was made to escape, and the person was re-apprehended at the scene.
“I welcome the latest crime data as the men and women of the NSW Police Force continue to work tirelessly to keep the people of NSW safe and secure.
“I am proud of the work they do and today's results are a clear indication of their daily dedication and resilience in performing their duties.”
