Crime in its many forms can impact the wellbeing of not only victims, but also their families, friends and the wider community. It has the potential to inflict financial, physical, emotional and psychological suffering upon those most directly affected. Fear of crime can affect people by restricting community engagement, reducing levels of trust and impacting on social cohesion. Crime is also costly on a wider scale in terms of the provision of law enforcement, legal and corrective services.

In 2010-11, of all Australians aged 15 years and over, an estimated 5.6% (just under one million persons) were victims of at least one assault (including physical assault and threatened assault) in the 12 months prior to interview. This is similar to the 2009-10 rate of 5.7%.

In 2010-11, an estimated 242,400 (2.8%) of Australia’s 8.5 million households were victims of at least one break-in into their home, shed or garage in the 12 months prior to interview. There was no statistically significant change since 2009-10 when 3.0% of households were a victim of a break-in.

For a more in-depth discussion about how crime relates to progress, please see the Crime chapter in Measures of Australia’s Progress, 2010 (cat. no. 1370.0).