The NSW town seeing a massive spike in domestic violence

Domestic violence in this NSW town has seen an increase by an astounding 64.5 per cent, as the Sydney suburb with the lowest rate of incidents was also revealed.

Domestic violence incidents in Dubbo, NSW, have increased by an astounding 64.5 per cent over two years, according to a report released today by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics.

The quarterly report, which records the number of domestic violence incidents reported in the 24 months to December, 2018, states the regional city saw an increase of more than 200 incidents between 2017 and 2018.

569 incidents were reported in 2018, up from 346 incidents in 2017.

Dubbo has the sixth highest number of domestic violence incidents in the state per capita, with the northern NSW town of Walgett topping the list, followed by Coonamble, Moree Plains, Narromine and Broken Hill. The area with the lowest rate of domestic violence in the state was the northern Sydney suburb of Ku-ring-gai.

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Director of the Bureau, Dr Don Weatherburn, said the dramatic spike was “significant” but that it was difficult to tell exactly what caused the increase.

“The first and most obvious explanation is that people have just become more willing to report the offence but there’s no way of knowing for sure,” said Dr Weatherburn.

“The number of incidents was pretty stable through 2017, then they really started going up between June, 2018, and October, 2018. That makes me wonder whether this might be the result of a change in willingness to report,” said Dr Weatherburn.

The spike occurred from the middle of winter, which Dr Weatherburn noted is an unusual time, given surges in domestic violence incidents usually peak during the Christmas and New Year period.

Dr Weatherburn noted Dubbo’s high rate of domestic violence is likely related to several socio-economic factors known to have links with domestic violence, such as high rates of unemployment, alcohol consumption and a significant Indigenous population, a group that is particularly vulnerable to the crime.

Originally published as The NSW town seeing a massive spike in domestic violence