Police figures show rate of assaults decreasing in Kings Cross and Sydney CBD since lockout laws

NEW figures released by the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research show the 12-month-old Sydney lockout laws are reducing violence.

NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione and State Minister for Police and Emergency Services Stuart Ayres at Martin Place Train Station for the launch a pilot program of Mobile devices, to help with real-time policing.

THE number of assaults in Sydney’s entertainment precincts continues to fall a year after lockout laws were introduced, according to the latest Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) figures.

But highlighting the migration of troublemakers from the city to its fringes, the report also noted a slight increase in assaults in and around Pyrmont’s The Star casino.

Violence in and around Kings Cross has decreased since lockout laws were introduced.

Key findings of the report, released today, include:

• A decrease in non-domestic violence assault in Kings Cross (down 32 per cent)

• A decrease in non-domestic violence assault in the Sydney CBD precinct (down 40 per cent)

• A decrease in non-domestic violence assaults across NSW (down 9 per cent).

The report also noted a decrease in assaults in the areas next to Kings Cross and Sydney CBD precincts, including Pyrmont, Ultimo and Surry Hills, as well as a decrease in assaults in nightspots further away from Kings Cross and the Sydney CBD, including Newtown, Double Bay, Coogee and Double Bay.

There has been an increased police presence in Sydney’s entertainment zones.

There was an increase in assaults in and around The Star Casino, however the report says the effects are not statistically significant and the reduction in assault elsewhere was much larger than the increase around The Star Casino.

NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said he attributed these good BOCSAR results to the hard work by officers of the NSW Police Force.

“It is their dedication and tenacity day in and day out that has achieved these good results,” he said.

Kings Cross is often deserted after the 2am lockout laws come into effect.