NEW statistics released by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) show that police reports of domestic violence assault across the state have increased eleven percent in the five years to June 2022 while sexual assault reports increased fourteen percent over the same period.

This five-year increase in domestic assault was driven by increases in certain metropolitan Sydney areas and regional communities.

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The largest increases were seen in Sutherland (up 43 per cent), the Mid North Coast (up 36 percent), Murray (up 36 percent) and Baulkham Hills/Hawkesbury (up 29 percent),

By comparison, the increase in sexual assault was most pronounced in regional NSW with incidents rising in Hunter Valley (up 40 percent), Southern Highlands (up 33 percent) and New England and North-West (up 31 percent).

In the MidCoast LGA, crime for the 2021-22 period was at a high, with several major offences at a high from the 202-21 period.

Police reported 549 incidents of domestic violence assault and 105 of sexual assault over the period, a rise from the previous year.

Additionally, crimes including non-domestic violence (396 incidents), break and enter dwelling (495 incidents), break and enter non-dwelling (310 incidents), steal from retail store (215 incidents) and malicious damage to property (872 incidents) were at a high from the previous year.

Sexual touching, sexual acts and other sexual offences had 154 incidents reported, a drop from the 2020-21 period, alongside robbery, steal from motor vehicle and other stealing offences, which saw 16, 336 and 872 incidents reported, respectively.

BOCSAR Executive Director, Jackie Fitzgerald, said that the pandemic had wildly disrupted criminal behaviour resulting in unprecedented falls in crime across NSW.

“The Covid-crime reduction has delivered huge benefits to the volume of property offences.

“Unfortunately, police reports of domestic assault and sexual offences were already increasing before the pandemic and that hasn’t changed.”

By Tara CAMPBELL