MEDIA RELEASE
7 June 2012	Embargo: 11.30 am (Canberra time)	79/2012

During 2011, there were 55,382 motor vehicle thefts recorded by police, up 1.1% from 2010, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Unlawful entry with intent also increased in 2011, up 0.6% from 2010 to 218,193 incidents in 2011. A residential location was the most common place for motor vehicle thefts (43%) and incidents of unlawful entry with intent (71%).

Females were more likely to be victims of sexual assault (85%), or kidnapping/abduction (60%). The street or footpath was the most common location for incidents of kidnapping and abduction (46%) and robbery (43%). Females aged 15–19 had the highest victimisation rate for sexual assault (546 victims per 100,000), at a rate of more than four times the overall female rate of sexual assault (129 victims per 100,000).

Males were more likely to be victims of homicide and related offences (68%). This was also the case for robbery (60%) and blackmail/extortion (59%). Male victims aged 15–19 had the highest victimisation rate for robbery (265 victims per 100,000 persons), more than three times the overall male victimisation rate for robbery (73 victims per 100,000).

Most incidents of murder (66%), attempted murder (56%) and sexual assault (59%) took place in a private residential location.

More information on recorded crime in Australia can be found in Recorded Crime Victims, Australia (cat. no. 4510.0).

Media notes:

• This publication presents national crime statistics relating to victims of a selected range of personal and property offences that have been recorded by police during 2011. The 2011 publication marks the second year in a new time series following a break in series for the collection in the 2010 publication; therefore comparisons should not be made between data published prior to the 2010 publication.
• Other theft is the unlawful taking or obtaining of money or goods, not involving the use of force, threat of force or violence, coercion or deception, with the intent to permanently or temporarily deprive the owner or possessor of the use of the money or goods, or the receiving or handling of money or goods obtained unlawfully. It includes the theft of motor vehicle parts or contents, Theft from a person (excluding by force), Theft from retail premises, Theft (except motor vehicles) n.e.c., and Illegal use of property (except motor vehicles) as classified under the Australian and New Zealand Standard Offence Classification (ANZSOC) (cat. no. 1234.0) 2011.
• A victim for the purpose of this publication is defined by the type of offence committed, this can be a person, a premise, an organisation or a motor vehicle. The publication gives counts of victims for selected offences that came to the attention of police and were recorded by them during the reference period. While the definition includes non-person victims, victimisation rates are only presented for person victims.
• Please ensure when reporting on ABS data that you attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or ABS) as the source.