Sexual assault reports at a low
ACT Policing’s latest quarterly crime statistics show the number of sexual assaults reported to police was the lowest reported for a quarter since 2018.
The January to March 2021 quarterly crime statistics have been released on the ACT Policing website and they show person-to-person crimes declined when compared to the first quarter of 2020.
Sexual Assaults declined from 122 to 106, Assaults were down from 747 to 663, and Other Offences Against a Person decreased from 82 to 65.
Similar decreases were noticed in the number of property crimes reported, when compared to the first quarter of 2020. Burglary reports decreased from 624 to 464, Robbery was down from 65 to 33, Stolen Motor Vehicles fell from 317 to 291, and reports of Property Damage declined from 1005 to 896.
The comparison holds up on Canberra’s roads, with the number of Traffic Infringement Notices issued decreasing from 2780 in the first quarter of 2020 to 1545 in the same period in 2020. This in part was due to Road Policing assisting with COVID-19 compliance at ACT’s borders.
Deputy Chief Police Officer – Response Commander Michael Chew said the crime trends were encouraging and has reminded Canberrans of the importance of reporting all crimes.
“We have long known that Canberra is one of the safest places in Australia to live and ACT Policing is committed to ensuring that remains the case,” Commander Chew said.
“There is anecdotal evidence from our service partners that there have been increases in requests for help and information relating to assaults and sexual assaults in recent weeks. These have not yet translated to increases in reports to police.
“I encourage any victim of any crime to let police know about it. They can call us or visit a police station, and in the case of historic sexual assault there’s the option to report it online.
“Police take all reports of crime seriously, and we will do everything we can to empower the victims of crime. Ensuring their welfare is our priority and victims can choose to start or stop the process at any point in the investigation.”
While ACT Policing urge any victims of crime to report it as soon as possible, in addition to doing so in person at any police station in Canberra, there are other ways to report crime to ACT Policing:
- To report a crime that it is not life threatening or an emergency, call Police Assistance on 131 444.
- Anyone with information about illegal or suspicious activity, which may assist in solving a crime and may be useful to Police should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report online at crimestoppersact.com.au
- Anyone wishing to report a historic sexual assault (one which occurred more than six months ago) can do so on the ACT Policing website.
The latest quarterly crime statistics are available on the ACT Policing website
Media enquiries
Police Media — (02) 5126 9070, act-police-media@afp.gov.au