BREAK-IN AND ATTEMPTED BREAK-IN ^Endnote1

BREAK-IN

In this survey, a break-in is defined as an act of unauthorised forced entry into a home or other place where a person permanently resides. Refer to the glossary page for the full definition of break-in.

WHO EXPERIENCED A BREAK-IN DURING 2016-17? (Table 1)

In the 12 months prior to interview, an estimated 2.5% of Australian households (228,300) experienced at least one break-in.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MOST RECENT INCIDENT

This section discusses characteristics of the households’ most recent incident of break-in in the 12 months prior to interview. ^Endnote2

REPORTING RATE (Table 20)

Three-quarters (75% or 172,100) of households had their most recent incident of break-in reported to police.

Around one in ten households (9% or 21,400 households) that experienced a break-in did not report the incident to police as it was considered to be too trivial/unimportant, while a further 8% (18,200 households) believed that the police would have been unwilling/unable to do anything.

OTHER SELECTED CHARACTERISTICS (Table 20)

In the most recent incident of break-in experienced by households:

• the majority of households had property stolen (74% or 169,000 households)
• a quarter of households had personal items stolen (29% or 66,900 households)
• just under half of households had property damaged (49% or 111,200 households)
• the offender/s confronted someone in around one in ten households (11% or 23,900 households).

ATTEMPTED BREAK-IN

For this survey, attempted break-in is defined as an incident where an attempt was made to forcibly enter a home. Refer to the glossary page for the full definition of attempted break-in.

WHO EXPERIENCED AN ATTEMPTED BREAK-IN DURING 2016-17? (Table 1)

In the 12 months prior to interview, an estimated 2.1% of Australian households (191,200) experienced at least one incident of attempted break-in.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MOST RECENT INCIDENT

This section discusses characteristics of the households' most recent incident of an attempted break-in in the 12 months prior to interview. ^Endnote2

REPORTING RATE (Table 21)

Just under half (44% or 84,600) of households had their most recent incident of attempted break in reported to police.

Just under one-quarter (22% or 42,800 households) did not report the most recent incident to police because the incident was considered to be too trivial/unimportant. A further 16% (30,300 households) believed that there was nothing the police could do.

OTHER SELECTED CHARACTERISTICS (Table 21)

In the most recent incident of attempted break-in experienced by households, the most commonly identified evidence of attempted break-in was damage to or tampering with doors or windows (47% or 90,400), followed by seeing or hearing someone trying to break-in (18% or 34,300).

ENDNOTES

Endnote 1 All comparisons discussed have been tested for statistical significance with a 95% level of confidence that there is a real difference in the two populations being tested. Only data with a relative standard error (RSE) of less than 25% are referred to in the text of this publication and these estimates are considered sufficiently reliable for general use. To determine whether there is a statistical difference between any other two estimates, significance testing should be undertaken. For further information, refer to the Technical Note.

Endnote 2 As information is only collected in relation to the most recent incident, the findings are not necessarily representative of all incidents experienced by households in the last 12 months prior to interview (see Technical Note).