Murder, abduction and kidnappings: Bankstown tops the state

People are not being grabbed off the streets, stressed Bankstown Police Commander Michael O’Toole, after the city was ranked number one in the state for abductions and kidnappings.

Bankstown commander Michael O'Toole and Sgt Jane Prior speaking to a partner of an offender during one of the apprehended violence order compliance checks done in the area in December 2018. Picture: NSW Police

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Bankstown Police Commander Superintendent Michael O’Toole says residents don’t have to panic after Canterbury Bankstown was ranked the second highest for murders and the highest for abductions and kidnappings in NSW from April 2018 until March 2019.

While Lake Macquarie topped the list for murder with five offences last year, Canterbury-Bankstown, Fairfield, Newcastle, Parramatta and Wollongong were just behind with four murders each in crime figures released on Thursday.

Canterbury Bankstown recorded the most offences in abduction and kidnapping with 16 and topped the state in blackmail and extortion with 13 offences, according to The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research.

Commander Superintendent Michael O'Toole: The number of abductions and kidnapping should not be a cause for concern for the wider community. Picture: Lawrence Machado

In the manufacture of drugs, Canterbury-Bankstown had the highest number of offences at seven, followed closely by Fairfield and Liverpool with five offences.

“The number of abductions and kidnapping should not be a cause for concern for the wider community,” Supt O’Toole told The Express.

“This does not mean people are just taken off the streets, but are mainly connected with domestic violence where partners are either held against their will or locked in a room.

“All these people were known to each other.

“Some also relate to illegal drug-related dealings where people are held for not paying their debts.

“We are making good progress in domestic violence targeting repeat offenders.

“Our officers are doing a good job on the streets and we are being more proactive like moving people forward.

“We have a strong community link which is helping us tackle crime in the area.

“There has been a reduction in break and enters and stolen motor vehicles.

“However, there has been a rise in stealing from motor vehicles, specially number plates which is strange as none of the number plates are turning up anywhere.

“We urge the community to contact us if they have any information about these crimes.”

74 MURDERS IN NSW

In total there were 74 murders recorded across NSW in the 12 months to March 2019 — up from 53 the previous year.

The number of murders in NSW jumped by 39.6 per cent, the number of recorded domestic assaults increased by 6 per cent and the number of indecent assaults and acts of indecency rose by 5.8 per cent, according to The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research.

The NSW Police Force said the recent figures show that in most categories — including robbery, break and enter, stealing, and fraud — crime is reported as being either being stable or reducing.

Police said some offences, including drug and weapon offences, sexual offences and domestic-violence assaults, have increased; and this could largely be attributed to proactive policing efforts and increased reporting.

“Reports of murder have significantly increased compared with statistics from 2018, with a large amount of these deaths considered to be domestic-violence related; however, when comparing murder rates over the past 10 years, this year’s figure is below average,” police said.

NSW Police Force corporate spokesman for domestic and family violence Assistant Commissioner Mark Jones said police would continue to work hard to combat domestic violence and it considered that even one murder was one too many.

“Domestic and family violence is one of the most challenging crimes facing police and we are focusing our resources to target this specific area,” he said.

“With this report, we have noted that domestic violence murder matters involving non-intimate relationships have increased more so than those in intimate relationships.

“These relationships include relatives, carers and those who reside together.”