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Robberies increase in 2019 for the fourth year in a row

Media Release
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Released
9/07/2020
Source
Recorded Crime - Victims, Australia, 2019

The number of victims of robbery rose to almost 12,000 in 2019, an increase of 16 per cent on 2018 and the fourth consecutive yearly rise, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

ABS Director of Crime and Justice Statistics, William Milne, said over the last four years the number of victims of robbery recorded by police had risen by 25 per cent.

“Most of the victims of robbery in 2019 were male (76 per cent), with one in five of all victims (22 per cent) aged between 15 and 19 years.

“Just under half (49 per cent) were armed robberies and of these 46 per cent involved a knife with most robberies committed at a community location, such as a suburban street.”

The number of victims of burglary and motor vehicle thefts also rose between 2018 and 2019, with a 3 per cent rise in victims of burglary (173,344) and a 9 per cent increase in motor vehicle theft victims (58,021).

The majority of these offences occurred at a residential location; 53 per cent of motor vehicle thefts and 72 per cent of burglaries.

Further information can be found in Recorded Crime - Victims, Australia, 2019 (cat. no. 4510.0) available for free download from the ABS website: https://abs.gov.au/.
 

    Media notes

    • Robbery is defined as the unlawful taking of property, with intent to permanently deprive the owner of the property by the use, and/or threatened use, of immediate force or violence.
    • Burglary, also known as unlawful entry with intent, is defined as the unlawful entry of a structure with the intent to commit an offence, where the entry is either forced or unforced. Excludes shop-stealing and stealing from a house or premise into which the offender has been invited or has legitimate access, whereby the intent was unlawful but the entry was not.
    • A victim for the purposes of this publication is defined by the type of offence committed. This can be a person, premises, an organisation or a motor vehicle.
    • When reporting ABS data, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or ABS) must be attributed as the source.
    • For media requests and interviews, contact the ABS Media Team via media@abs.gov.au (8:30am - 5:00pm Mon-Fri).
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