Violent crime returns to pre-Covid levels as property offences drop

Crime rates dropped off in NSW amid lockdowns and restrictions, but one set of offences has bounced back post-pandemic, data shows. See what’s spiked or fallen here.

Violent crimes have returned to pre-pandemic levels while property offences have dropped to much lower levels than they were two years ago, according to a new report.

The latest data from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOSCAR) revealed that violent crime, which include domestic assaults and sexual offences, are equivalent to pre-pandemic levels.

The report is based on data from the first quarter of 2022 and is compared to the same period from January to March in 2020.

Meanwhile, many high-volume crimes, such as domestic burglary and motor vehicle theft, remained low in this year’s quarterly period after the pandemic saw a large dive in these types of offences.

Police also recorded 24 per cent fewer property offences than the same period in 2020 and a significant fall of 27 per cent in dwelling break and enter.

SViolent crime has surged back to pre-pandemic levels, BOCSAR data has revealed. Picture: Gaye Gerard.

Non-dwelling break and enter offences were down 23 per cent along with 24 per cent down in retail stores and 21 per cent for stealing from a motor vehicle.

Overall, robbery plunged 32 per cent.

Gang-related crime has been a key focus for police recently but crime stats don’t reflect an increase in violent offences. Picture: Christian Gilles

“A number of factors suspected to be keeping property crime low during the pandemic are no longer in play, such as mobility restrictions and access to government stimulus money,” BOSCAR Executive Director Jackie Fitzgerald said.

“It seems likely that property crime will start to increase over the coming year but, fortunately, this is taking longer than expected.“

Despite police cracking down on gang crime in recent weeks, the crime stats do not show an increase in violent offences involving firearms or knives in the year to March 2022.

The number of murders, attempted murders, assaults and robberies, which involve these weapons, were lower in the year to March 2022 than in any other year in the last two decades.