Recorded Crime - Offenders

In 2018–19:

• there were 394,466 offenders proceeded against by police across Australia
• there was a 3% decrease in the number of offenders since 2017–18
• the offender rate also decreased by 89 offenders to 1,794 offenders per 100,000 persons
   

Between 2017-18 and 2018-19 the number of offenders recorded for public order offences decreased by 13%, to 53,560 offenders nationally. This was the lowest number of offenders for this offence since the time series began in 2008–09.

The offender rate also decreased from 284 to 244 offenders per 100,000 persons over the same period.

All public order offence categories decreased since the previous year:

• Disorderly conduct down 3,302 offenders or 12%
• Regulated public order offences down 2,623 offenders or 15%
• Offensive conduct down 2,023 offenders or 13%
   

All states and territories recorded a decrease in this offence division, with the highest in:

• Northern Territory down 27% or 1,408 offenders
• Victoria down 14% or 1,463 offenders
• New South Wales down 13% or 2,093 offenders
   

Offenders with a homicide related principal offence increased to 752 in 2018–19. This was the highest number of offenders recorded in Australia for this offence in eight years and resulted in an offender rate of 3.4 offenders per 100,000 persons. This offender rate has ranged between 3.1 and 3.6 offenders per 100,000 persons over the same eight year period.

Between 2017-18 and 2018–19:

• Murder increased by 87 offenders (37%)
• Attempted murder increased by 19 offenders (14%)
   

The number and rate of male offenders recorded in Australia decreased to their lowest levels in seven years.

Since 2017–18:

• offenders decreased 4% to 298,387 male offenders
• rate of offenders decreased from 2,901 to 2,751 offenders per 100,000 males
   

There were 95,356 female offenders in 2018–19, a rate of 856 offenders per 100,000 females.

There were 394,466 offenders proceeded against by police across Australia in 2018–19.

• There was a 3% decrease in the number of offenders since 2017–18.
• The offender rate also decreased by 89 offenders to 1,794 offenders per 100,000 persons. This was the lowest rate in the time series beginning in 2008–09.
   

The three most common principal offences were:

• Acts intended to cause injury with 78,530 offenders (20%)
• Illicit drug offences with 77,074 offenders (20%)
• Public order offences with 53,560 offenders (14%)
   

These offences have consistently been the most common three principal offences since 2012–13.

Public order offences decreased by 13% (7,677 offenders) since 2017–18, driven by decreases across all jurisdictions with the most from:

• Northern Territory (down 27% or 1,408 offenders)
• Victoria (down 14% or 1,463 offenders)
• New South Wales (down 13% or 2,093 offenders)
   

• Around three-quarters of offenders proceeded against by police were male (76%).
• The male offender rate was over three times the female offender rate with:
   
  • 2,751 male offenders per 100,000 males
  • 856 female offenders per 100,000 females
     
• Acts intended to cause injury was the most common principal offence for male offenders (20% or 60,418 offenders).
• Illicit drug offences was the most common principal offence for female offenders (20% or 19,386 offenders).
   

• The median age for offenders nationally remained stable at 30 years.
• Offenders aged between 20 and 24 years accounted for the largest proportion of offenders (16% or 63,015 offenders).
• The offender rate for persons aged between 15 and 19 years decreased by 302 offenders since 2017–18 to 4,073 offenders per 100,000 persons. This was the largest decrease by age group for offender rates.
• The offender rate for persons aged between 60 and 64 years was 417 offenders per 100,000 persons in 2018–19. This was the highest rate since the beginning of the time series in 2008–09 when it was at 303 offenders per 100,000 persons.
   

There were 49,180 youth offenders proceeded against by police in 2018–19, at a rate of 2,045 offenders per 100,000 persons aged between 10 and 17 years. The youth offender rate decreased to the lowest in the time series.

• Around one in five youth offenders had a principal offence of acts intended to cause injury, of that 96% were for assault.
• The number of youth offenders with a principal offence of robbery/extortion increased by 21% to 1,521 offenders.
   

• The female youth offender rate was one and a half times higher than the total female offender rate (1,285 per 100,000 females aged between 10 and 17, and 856 per 100,000 females respectively).
• Almost a third of youth offenders were female (31%), compared with almost a quarter of total female offenders (24%).
• The male youth offender rate was consistent with the total male offender rate (2,758 per 100,000 males aged between 10 and 17, and 2,751 per 100,000 males respectively).

The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander offenders (see footnote 1) proceeded against by police in 2018–19 was:

• 17,336 in Queensland
• 12,753 in New South Wales
• 4,743 in the Northern Territory
• 4,322 in South Australia
• 312 in the Australian Capital Territory
   

The number of offenders decreased in:

• the Northern Territory (down 5%)
• the Australian Capital Territory (down 4%)
• Queensland (down less than 1%)
   

Acts intended to cause injury was the most common principal offence across all jurisdictions (see footnote 2). 

Around three-quarters of offenders were male (see footnote 2), this is consistent throughout the time series:

• 79% in Northern Territory
• 76% in the Australian Capital Territory
• 72% in New South Wales
• 69% in South Australia
• 67% in Queensland
   

In 2018–19, over a third of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander offenders were aged under 25 years across each state and territory for which data are available:

• Queensland (44% or 7,695 offenders)
• New South Wales (42% or 5,341 offenders)
• Northern Territory (36% or 1,714 offenders)
• South Australia (33% or 1,445 offenders)
• Australian Capital Territory (33% or 103 offenders)
   

The mean age of offenders ranged from 29 years for Queensland and New South Wales up to 31 years for both South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory.

The mean number of times Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander offenders were proceeded against were:

• 2.6 times in New South Wales
• 2.4 times in Queensland
• 2.1 times in South Australia
• 1.9 times in Northern Territory
• 1.8 times in the Australian Capital Territory
   

The number of police proceedings decreased across nearly all the published states and territories (see footnote 1), with the exception of Queensland which increased by 1%.

The total number of police proceedings recorded in 2018–19 were:

• 230,482 in New South Wales
• 163,362 in Queensland
• 114,515 in Victoria
• 63,855 in South Australia
• 17,453 in the Northern Territory
• 15,044 in Tasmania
• 3,221 in the Australian Capital Territory
   

The most common principal offences proceeded against by police were:

• Acts intended to cause injury in New South Wales (16%), Victoria (19%) and the Australian Capital Territory (23%)
• Illicit drug offences in Queensland (25%) and South Australia (33%)
• Public order offences in Tasmania (22%) and the Northern Territory (42%)
   

The majority of police proceedings were court actions across the published states and territories (see footnote 2), with the exception of New South Wales. The proportion of court actions by total proceedings were:

• 82% in Queensland
• 77% in the Australian Capital Territory
• 71% in Victoria
• 69% in Tasmania
• 46% in New South Wales
   

The most common principal offences for court proceedings were:

• Acts intended to cause injury in New South Wales (33%), Victoria (25%), Tasmania (23%) and the Australian Capital Territory (28%)
• Illicit drug offences in Queensland (25%)
   

The number of non-court actions decreased across all published (see footnote 2) states and territories.

The most common principal offences for non-court action proceedings were:

• Public order offences in New South Wales (17%), Victoria (38%), Tasmania (54%) and Queensland (38%)
• Illicit drug offences in the Australian Capital Territory (30%)
   

There were 122,001 offenders proceeded against by police in New South Wales in 2018-19.

There were 75,996 offenders proceeded against by police in Victoria in 2018–19.

• There was a 2% decrease in the number of offenders since the previous year.
• The offender rate decreased by 55 offenders to 1,331 offenders per 100,000 persons.
   

There were 89,501 offenders proceeded against by police in Queensland in 2018-19.

• There was a less than 1% decrease in the number of offenders since 2017–18.
• The offender rate also decreased by 55 offenders to 2,035 offenders per 100,000 persons.
   

There were 44,586 offenders proceeded against by police in South Australia in 2018–19.

There were 39,415 offenders proceeded against in Western Australia in 2018–19.

There were 9,614 offenders proceeded against by police in Tasmania in 2018-19.

• There was a 5% decrease in the number of offenders since 2017–18.
• The offender rate also decreased by 144 offenders since 2017–18 to 2,045 offenders per 100,000 persons.

There were 10,871 offenders proceeded against by police in the Northern Territory in 2018–19.

• There was a 13% decrease in the number of offenders since 2017–18.
• The offender rate also decreased by 768 offenders since 2017–18 to 5,192 offenders per 100,000 persons.

There were 2,477 offenders recorded in the Australian Capital Territory in 2018–19. The Australian Capital Territory made up less than one percent of all offenders nationally.

Around one in five offenders proceeded against by police had at least one Family and Domestic Violence (FDV) related offence (see footnote 1) in 2018–19. This was the case across all states for which FDV data were available (see footnote 2), with the exception of Queensland (see footnote 3) and Tasmania (see footnote 4).

• The proportion of male FDV-related offenders ranged from 79% in New South Wales to 84% in Victoria.
• Male offenders were proceeded against for FDV-related offences around four to five times more than female offenders.
   

The median age was higher for offenders proceeded against for an FDV-related offence compared with the median age of the total offender population in most jurisdictions (except for the Northern Territory where the median age was the same). For example, the median age for FDV offenders in New South Wales was 33 years, 4 years older than the median age of the total New South Wales offender population.

The most common FDV-related principal offence was acts intended to cause injury except in Queensland (see footnote 3), ranging from 49% of FDV offenders in Western Australia to 79% in New South Wales.

The most common FDV-related principal offence in Queensland (see footnote 3) was breach of violence and non-violence orders (68%).

The number of offenders proceeded against for at least one FDV-related offence in 2018–19 were:

• 26,209 in New South Wales
• 16,210 in Victoria
• 13,136 in Queensland
• 7,636 in Western Australia
• 2,672 in the Northern Territory
• 1,321 in Tasmania
• 554 in the Australian Capital Territory
   

• More than one in five offenders proceeded against by police in New South Wales had at least one FDV-related offence (22%).
• There were 373 FDV offenders per 100,000 persons.
• The majority of FDV offenders in New South Wales:
   
  • had a principal offence of acts intended to cause injury (79%)
  • were male (79%)
  • were proceeded against once in the year (81%)
     
• The male offender rate was almost four times higher than the female offender rate with:
   
  • 595 male FDV offenders per 100,000 males
  • 156 female FDV offenders per 100,000 females
     
• There was an 8% increase in the number of offenders with an FDV-related offence since 2017–18 (up 1,884 offenders).
• There were 33,543 FDV-related police proceedings.
   

• More than one in five offenders proceeded against by police in Victoria had at least one FDV-related offence (21%).
• There was a 2% increase in the number of offenders with an FDV-related offence since 2017–18 (up 387 offenders) but the rate remained consistent at 284 FDV offenders per 100,000 persons.
• The majority of FDV offenders in Victoria:
   
  • had a principal offence of acts intended to cause injury (58%)
  • were male (84%)
  • were proceeded against once in the year (77%)
     
• The male offender rate was over five times higher than the female offender rate with:
   
  • 481 male FDV offenders per 100,000 males
  • 92 female FDV offenders per 100,000 females
     
• There were 21,937 FDV-related police proceedings.
   

• There were 299 FDV offenders per 100,000 persons in Queensland. (see footnote 3)
• The majority of FDV offenders in Queensland:
   
  • had a principal offence of breach of violence and non-violence orders (68%)
  • were male (82%)
  • were proceeded against once in the year (74%)
     
• The male offender rate was almost five times higher than the female offender rate with:
   
  • 500 male FDV offenders per 100,000 males
  • 103 female FDV offenders per 100,000 females
     
• There were 18,074 FDV-related police proceedings.
   

• Almost one in five offenders proceeded against by police in Western Australia had at least one FDV-related offence (19%).
• There was a 4% decrease in the number of offenders with an FDV-related offence since 2017–18 (down 323 offenders).
• There were 338 FDV offenders per 100,000 persons.
• Almost half of FDV offenders had a principal offence of acts intended to cause injury (49%).
• The majority of FDV offenders were male (82%).
• The male offender rate was almost five times higher than the female offender rate with:
   
  • 555 male FDV offenders per 100,000 males
  • 121 female FDV offenders per 100,000 females
     

• There were 281 FDV offenders per 100,000 persons in Tasmania. (see footnote 4)
• The majority of FDV offenders in Tasmania:
   
  • had a principal offence of acts intended to cause injury (65%)
  • were male (80%)
  • were proceeded against once in the year (71%)
     
• The male offender rate was more than four times higher than the female offender rate with:
   
  • 456 male FDV offenders per 100,000 males
  • 113 female FDV offenders per 100,000 females
     
• There were 1,928 FDV-related police proceedings (see footnote 4).
   

• A quarter of offenders proceeded against by police in the Northern Territory had at least one FDV-related offence (25%).
• There was a 9% decrease in the number of offenders with an FDV-related offence since 2017–18 (down 274 offenders).
• There were 1,276 FDV offenders per 100,000 persons.
• The majority of FDV offenders in the Northern Territory:
   
  • had a principal offence of acts intended to cause injury (72%)
  • were male (83%)
  • were proceeded against once in the year (77%)
     
• The male offender rate was more than four times higher than the female offender rate with:
   
  • 2,040 male FDV offenders per 100,000 males
  • 457 female FDV offenders per 100,000 females
     
• There were 3,619 FDV-related police proceedings.
   

• More than one in five offenders proceeded against by police in the Australian Capital Territory had at least one FDV-related offence (22%).
• There was a 6% decrease in the number of offenders with an FDV-related offence since 2017–18 (down 37 offenders).
• There were 151 FDV offenders per 100,000 persons
• The majority of FDV offenders in the Australian Capital Territory:
   
  • had a principal offence of acts intended to cause injury (65%)
  • were male (83%)
  • were proceeded against once in the year (89%)
     
• The male offender rate was almost five times higher than the female offender rate with:
   
  • 254 male FDV offenders per 100,000 males
  • 52 female FDV offenders per 100,000 females
     
• There were 634 FDV-related police proceedings.
   

Offenders proceeded against by police for an FDV-related breach of violence or non-violence order (see footnote 5) in 2018–19 included:

• 10,755 in Queensland (see footnote 3)
• 8,328 in New South Wales
• 8,092 in Victoria
• 3,477 in Western Australia
• 1,388 in the Northern Territory
• 729 in Tasmania (see footnote 4)
• 119 in the Australian Capital Territory
   

The majority of offenders with an FDV-related breach of violence or non-violence order were male ranging from 81% in the Australian Capital Territory to 86% in Victoria and the Northern Territory.

This release previously used catalogue number 4519.0.