VICTIMISATION EXPERIENCES IN VICTORIA ^{Endnote 1, Endnote 2, Endnote 3}

This section contains the victimisation and reporting rates for selected crime types for Victoria. Estimates for Victoria were compared with the national estimates to identify any differences that were statistically significant. Only significant differences are discussed in this section (refer to the Technical Note for more information regarding statistical significance).

The reference period for all estimates was the 12 months prior to interview in 2015–16.

PERSONAL CRIME (Tables 4, 5 and 10)


Total assault

In the 12 months prior to interview, an estimated 4.7%^{Endnote 3} of persons in Victoria (224,800) experienced assault. Two in five persons who experienced assault experienced a single incident (41% or 91,600), 16% (36,400) experienced two incidents, and 42% (93,200) experienced three or more incidents.

Physical assault

In Victoria, an estimated 2.5% of persons (118,800) experienced physical assault. Of these, 56% (66,700) had the most recent incident reported to police. Just under half of persons who experienced physical assault (46% or 54,600) experienced a single incident and another 28% (33,700) experienced three or more incidents.

Total threatened assault

In the 12 months prior to interview, an estimated 2.7%^{Endnote 3} of persons in Victoria (129,500) experienced threatened assault. Just over one in three persons who experienced threatened assault experienced a single incident (35% or 45,000), while almost half (48% or 62,200) experienced three or more incidents.

Face-to-face threatened assault

An estimated 2.5% of persons in Victoria (119,000) experienced face-to-face threatened assault. Of these, 45% (53,600) had the most recent incident reported to police.

Non face-to-face threatened assault

In Victoria, an estimated 0.9% of persons (42,400) experienced non face-to-face threatened assault. Of these, 44% (18,500) had the most recent incident reported to police.

Sexual assault

In the 12 months prior to interview, an estimated 0.6% of persons aged 18 years or over in Victoria (25,800) experienced sexual assault.

HOUSEHOLD CRIME (Tables 6 and 7)


Break-in

In the 12 months prior to interview, an estimated 2.6% of households in Victoria (59,100) experienced a break-in. Of these households, 84% (49,800) had the most recent incident reported to police.

Attempted break-in

An estimated 1.8% of households in Victoria (42,000) experienced an attempted break-in. Of these, half (51% or 21,300) had the most recent incident reported to police. This was higher than the national attempted break-in reporting rate (44%).

Motor vehicle theft

In Victoria, an estimated 0.8% of households (17,900) experienced motor vehicle theft, which was higher than the national victimisation rate (0.5%). Of these, almost all (90% or 16,100) had the most recent incident reported to police.

Theft from a motor vehicle

In the 12 months prior to interview, an estimated 3.7% of households in Victoria (83,700) experienced theft from a motor vehicle, which was higher than the national victimisation rate (2.9%). Of these, 58% (48,600) had the most recent incident reported to police.

Malicious property damage

In Victoria, an estimated 5.5% of households (124,200) experienced malicious property damage. Of these, 53% (65,400) had the most recent incident reported to police.

Other theft

In the 12 months prior to interview, an estimated 2.9% of households in Victoria (66,300) experienced other theft. Of these, 45% (30,100) had the most recent incident reported to police.

ENDNOTES

Endnote 1 Data for number of victims, victimisation and reporting rates are not discussed where the relative standard error (RSE) for the estimates is greater than 25%. This has resulted in some crime types being excluded from this commentary text. These data are available in Table 2; users are advised to exercise caution when interpreting these estimates.

Endnote 2 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 3 This number is not published in the accompanying tables, but can be obtained by dividing the number of victims of a selected crime type by the relevant population total (in this case, the total population of persons over the age of 15 in Victoria).