4509.5 - Crime and Safety, Western Australia, Oct 1999  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 25/05/2000   
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May 25, 2000

59/2000

Crime hits one in seven WA homes

Breaks-ins, attempted break-ins and motor vehicle theft affected 13.3 per cent of WA homes during the 12 months to October 1999, according to a report released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The publication, Crime and Safety, Western Australia 1999, reports on selected types of household and personal crime in the State.

Household crime affected 14.6 per cent of Perth households but only 9.7 per cent of households in the rest of WA. One parent households had the highest victimisation rate (18 per cent).

While most householders reported vehicle theft to police (96.4 per cent reporting rate), far fewer reported attempted break-ins (21.7 per cent).

Personal crime (robbery, assault and sexual assault) affected 5.6 per cent of Western Australians aged 15 and over. Males, with a victimisation rate of 6.8 per cent were more likely to be victims than females (4.5 per cent). People aged 15-24 years had a higher victimisation rate (13.3 per cent) than people aged 55 years and over (1.5 per cent). The unemployed were more likely to experience personal crime (14.4 per cent) than their employed counterparts (5.7 per cent).

In occurrences of assault, the offender was known to the victim in 56.2 per cent of incidences. In these incidences where the offender was known to the victim, the offender was most likely to be a family member (including ex-partner). Acquaintances and friends were the next most commonly reported known offenders.

When asked about crime or public nuisance problems in their neighbourhood 41.3 per centof people reported that there were none.

Western Australians who did perceive a crime or public nuisance problem in their neighbourhood felt that housebreaking/burglaries, vandalism/graffiti/damage to property, dangerous/noisy driving and motor vehicle theft were the major issues.

Further details are available in Crime and Safety, Western Australia 1999 (Cat. No. 4509.5) available from ABS bookshops. The summary of the main findings can be found on this site. If you wish to purchase a copy of this publication, contact the ABS Bookshop in your capital city.