4500.0 - Crime and Justice News, Oct 1999  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 29/11/1999   
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NATIONAL CRIME STATISTICS UNIT (NCSU)

The sixth in the series of the annual publication, Recorded Crime, Australia 1998 (ABS Cat. No. 4510.0) was released on 16 June 1999. Key findings from the 1998 national publication were:

  • The number of victims of crime recorded by police in Australia rose for all categories between 1997 and 1998, with the exception of murder (which decreased by 12%) and blackmail/extortion (which decreased by 17%).
  • During 1998, firearms were used in 19% of murders, 19% of attempted murders, 18% of armed robberies, 3.9% of kidnapping or abductions, 0.5% of assaults and 0.2% of sexual assaults.
  • The most commonly reported crime was theft other than theft of a motor vehicle.
  • Murders recorded in 1998 were the lowest in six years.
  • Although armed robberies increased by nearly 20% the number of armed robberies involving a firearm decreased to a six-year low of 18% compared to a high of 38% in 1993.
  • Males represented 58% of all assault victims.

Copies of the Recorded Crime, Australia (ABS Cat. No. 4510.0) are available from the ABS for $28.00.