Assault cases rise nationally
Assault cases in Australia’s criminal courts rose by 16 per cent in the 2022–23 financial year, the highest in over 10 years, according to data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Samantha McNally, ABS head of crime and justice statistics said: “There were 74,526 defendants whose most serious offence was assault, which accounted for 14 per cent of all completed court cases across the country.”
“Of the assault defendants who received a judgement, 91 per cent (54,069) had a guilty outcome. The courts imposed custody in a correctional institution for one in five of these defendants, and a good behaviour order on a further one in five.”
Over half a million (533,971) defendants had a criminal court case completed during 2022–23, an increase of 9 per cent from the previous year. This increase was in part due to clearing of COVID-19 backlog cases.
Traffic and vehicle offences continued to account for just over a third (35 per cent) of all defendants across Australian courts.
More information, including state and territory data, can be found in Criminal Courts Australia, 2022–23, available as a free download from the ABS website.
Media notes
Assault offences relate to the direct (and immediate/confrontational) infliction of force, injury or violence upon a person, or persons, or the direct (and immediate/confrontational) threat of force, injury or violence where there is an apprehension that the threat could be enacted. These offences are classified to ANZSOC Sub-division 021 which includes the following groups:
- Serious assault resulting in injury (0211)
- Serious assault not resulting in injury (0212)
- Common assault (0213)
Defendants receiving a judgement are those with charges adjudicated by a criminal court. Not all court cases are adjudicated, such as where all charges are withdrawn, or the defendant is found unfit to plead.
When reporting ABS data you must attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or the ABS) as the source.
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