Worst postcodes for youth crime in NSW and greater Sydney revealed
New figures have pinpointed the worst hot spots in NSW for youth crime. Explore the list of which suburbs recording the highest rates of offending.
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New figures have pinpointed the worst hot spots in NSW for serious youth crime with the Sydney’s CBD, Mt Druitt and the outback town of Bourke topping the list.
Assaults, car thefts and home break and enters were among the 10,969 serious offences carried out by young offenders in 2022, according to latest data published by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics (BOCSAR).
On a proportion of population, Bourke had the highest overall number of offences for any postcode in NSW with 95 serious incidents in a town with a population of just 2389 people.
In the greater Sydney region, hotspot suburbs include Sydney’s CBD, Mt Druitt, Bondi Junction and two postcodes in the Sutherland Shire.
The figures come amid increased focus on youth crime and violence – largely driven by ‘postcode wars’ that have seen rising numbers of young people turn to violence in parts of Sydney.
Sydney Law School associate professor of criminology Garner Clancey said there were multiple reasons why some suburbs recorded higher rates of youth crime than others.
“Areas like Mt Druitt and Bourke have historically recorded higher crime rates and there are structural reasons behind that,” he said. “Mt Druitt has a high level of public housing which is not necessarily crime causing in itself but can have a more itinerant and chaotic population and there are socio-economic factors as well,” he said.
“Regional areas like Bourke tend to have higher rates of unemployment and lack of opportunities for young people can lead to increased crime.
“In the CBD you get a variety of crime associated with high movements of people particularly as more people are out and about post-Covid – a lot of assaults recorded are alcohol related and you get more thefts because more people are about.”
Mr Clancey said historic comparisons show the broader trends reveal youth crime had declined in many of the major categories, including homicide.
NSW Police assistant commissioner Leanne McCusker has warned while there was a downward trend in youth crime in a general sense, police were seeing an increase in violent activity including knife crime among teenagers.
“Police routinely do operations across Sydney targeting young people for weapons when they suspect they may be part of a group or in a known area for gang violence,” she said.
“We conduct Operation Foil that’s very much targeted at youth crime and in particular knife crime, and seize them as a preventive strategy.”
NSW Police say they have a range of proactive measures to target youth crime, including sending police officers into schools as part of educational programs.
Below is a breakdown of the postcodes with the highest rates of serious crime in 2022 using the most recent data from BOCSAR.
The serious offences used to formulate the data included: homicide, assault, robbery, sexual offences, malicious damage, break and enters, car theft, theft from dwelling, theft from person and arson.
GREATER SYDNEY
SYDNEY CBD
Sydney’s CBD recorded the highest per capita rate of serious juvenile crime in greater Sydney with 144 incidents recorded in 2022. The postcode – which has a population of 27,936 – recorded 45 youth robberies, 51 assaults, 26 incidents of malicious damage, 11 break and enters and 11 incidents of thefts from persons.
MT DRUITT
Mt Druitt clocked up 159 serious youth crime offences last year, including 86 assaults, seven home break and enters and nine robberies. Other incidents included seven car thefts, five thefts from persons and 38 incidents of malicious damage. The postcode is home to 61,494 people.
BONDI JUNCTION
Home to 13,509 people, the Bondi Junction postcode recorded 33 serious youth crime incidents including 14 assaults, 12 robberies and seven car thefts. Outside the main crime categories, the postcode also had the state’s highest number of retail theft incidents by juveniles with 66 incidents recorded in 2022.
MIRANDA
The Miranda postcode of 2228 recorded 50 serious youth crime incidents in 2022 including 19 assaults, and 13 home break and enters. The figures also included seven robberies, six car thefts and five incidents of malicious damage.
BLACKTOWN
Blacktown was another youth crime hotspot with 139 serious incidents recorded last year. The figures include 65 assaults and six sexual offences – the fourth highest number for any suburb in NSW. There were also 16 robberies, 11 car thefts, six home break and enters and five steal from person offences.
DOONSIDE
Doonside recorded 47 youth crime incidents in 2022 including 14 assaults, six car thefts, eight robberies and 10 incidents of malicious damage. The postcode is home to 23,384 people.
CAMPBELLTOWN
The Macarthur region postcode of 2560 recorded 141 serious offences last year including 80 assaults, 33 incidents of malicious damage. There were also 11 robberies, eight home break and enters and nine car thefts.
CRONULLA
Cronulla had the highest number of cars stolen by juveniles in greater Sydney last year with 20 vehicles stolen over the 12 month period. The postcode recorded 22 other serious youth crime offences including five robberies, seven assaults and 10 break and enters from homes.
LIVERPOOL
There were 144 serious youth crime incidents were recorded in the Liverpool postcode in 2022 – including 86 assaults and 11 sexual offences. There were also eight robberies, five car thefts and 26 incidents of malicious damage.
PENRITH
The Penrith postcode clocked up 58 serious youth crime incidents last year including 33 assaults and 14 robberies. There were also five car thefts and six incidents of malicious damage.
REGIONAL NSW
BOURKE
Bourke recorded the state’s highest per capita juvenile crime rate with 95 serious incidents of major crime in 2022. The postcode of 2389 residents recorded 13 home youth break and enters, 22 assaults, 33 other break and enters and 16 incidents of malicious damage.
MOREE
Moree ranked second with 222 serious youth offences in a postcode with a population of 9708 people. The figures included 72 car thefts, 59 assaults and eight incidents of arson. There were also 41 incidents of malicious damage and 36 home break and enters.
WALGETT
Walgett was another youth crime hotspot with 45 serious incidents recorded in 2022. The crime statistics show the offences included 21 assaults, 10 break and enters, a further seven home break and enters and seven incidents of malicious damage. The postcode has a population of 2149 people.
The central west town of Coonamble ranked fourth with 44 serious incidents based on a population of 2965 people. The incidents included 16 assaults, 10 home break and enters and 11 incidents of malicious damage
INVERELL
The Inverell postcode recorded 104 serious incidents from a population of 14,495 people. The incidents included 49 assaults, 12 car thefts, 11 break and enters and 22 incidents of malicious damage.
CASINO
Casino also ranked high with 99 serious juvenile crime incidents recorded in 2022. Home to 15,477 people, the number of serious incidents in the postcode included 28 assaults, 18 car thefts, 18 incidents of malicious damage, five sexual offences, and 20 home break and enters.
ORANGE
Orange clocked up 292 serious youth crime incidents in 2022 including 64 incidents of malicious damage, 87 assaults, 55 car thefts and 41 home break and enters. The postcode of 48,283 people also recorded nine youth robberies and seven incidents of arson.
TAMWORTH
The country music capital is also the state’s capital for the number of cars stolen by young offenders. The crime figures show 78 cars were stolen by juveniles during 2022 – the highest for any postcode in NSW. There were also 78 assaults, 69 break and enters and nine robberies.
DUBBO
Dubbo recorded 249 serious youth crime incidents last year, including 87 break and enters and 62 assaults. There were also 42 car thefts, five robberies and 53 incidents of malicious damage.
GUNNEDAH
Gunnedah recorded 56 incidents in 2022. The number of incidents in the postcode, which has a population of 11,118 people, included 11 break and enters, 10 assaults, 27 car thefts and eight incidents of malicious damage.
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