NT crime figures: The most common offences being committed

The NT has seen more criminal activity, but now we can reveal who commits more crimes when men are compared to women.

Drunk and disorderly related crimes plummeted across the country last year as social distancing restrictions kicked in, but the one crime type that rose was fines related to COVID-19.

According to the latest statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) the overall number of criminal offenders prosecuted by police in Australia in the past financial year dropped to 374,645 offenders – its lowest level, in a decade.

However, in a year when people were fined for being outside without a valid excuse and shoppers were convicted of affray for a supermarket brawl over toilet paper supplies, “miscellaneous offences” jumped 22 per cent to 18,353 offenders – largely due to fines issued for COVID-19 related offences.

. Shoppers fight over toilet rolls at the height of the panic buying craze. Picture: Twitter

The Recorded Crime – Offenders report 2019-2020 found in the Northern Territory there were 9,505 offenders, a fall of 13 per cent since 2018–19.

The most common offences were:

• acts intended to cause injury with 2,652 offenders (28 per cent)

• public order offences with 2,633 offenders (28 per cent)

Public order offences fell by 31 per cent (or 1,181 offenders) from 2018–19.

This decrease accounted for the majority of the overall offender decrease.

William Milne, ABS Director of Crime and Justice Statistics.

The ABS Director of Crime and Justice Statistics, William Milne, said there was a five per cent drop nationally from the previous year.

“This was largely due to a decline in public order offences such as public drunkenness and disorderly behaviour in a public place, which fell by 12,608 offenders or 24 per cent,” Mr Milne said.

“Public order offenders have declined since 2013–14, with the latest decrease coinciding with restrictions put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19.”

The annual ABS report revealed the three most common offences in Australia were:

* acts intended to cause injury (78,523 offenders);

* illicit drug offences (74,443 offenders);

* public order offences (40,975 offenders).

The report showed the profile of criminal offenders in three-quarters of all cases were males aged about 30 years old.

The report showed the profile of criminal offenders in three-quarters of all cases were males aged about 30 years old.

The male offender rate was around three times the female offender rate with 2,559 male offenders per 100,000 males and 813 female offenders per 100,000 females.

The most common crime committed by male offenders was “acts intended to cause injury”. For female offenders, the most common crime was illicit drug offences.

The report data also showed public order offences (that involves a breach of public order or decency including public drunkenness, disorderly behaviour in a public place and drinking alcohol in alcohol free zones) dropped by 24 per cent, down by 12,608 offenders, from the previous year.

The biggest drop was in South Australia there were 2,726 fewer offenders or a 34 per cent drop, followed by Victoria where there were 2,809 less offenders a drop of 31 per cent. In Queensland there were 2,958 fewer offenders – as 21 per cent drop and in NSW public order offences decreased by 14 per cent or 11,717 offenders.

Nationally the number of public order offenders have almost halved since 2013–14, down by 47 per cent from 77,043 to 40,975 offenders in 2019–20.

Across the country all states and territories had a drop in crime with South Australia experiencing the largest drop in overall crime, down 7,726 offenders or 17 per cent, followed by New South Wales down 5,077 offenders or four per cent and Western Australia down 1,818 offenders or five per cent.

Victoria recorded a fall of two per cent (down 1,807 offenders);

Queensland was down one per cent (down 1,049 offenders); Tasmania 11 per cent (down 1,075 offenders);

The Northern Territory 13 per cent (down 1,366 offenders); and the Australian Capital Territory three per cent (down 71 offenders), between 2018–19 and 2019–20.

The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander offenders prosecuted by police in 2019–20 increased in the Australian Capital Territory (up 14 per cent or 42 offenders) to 354;

In NSW by 5 per cent or 625 offenders to 13,378, and in the Northern Territory up less than one per cent or 36 offenders to 4,779 and in Queensland up less than one per cent or 123 offenders to 17,459.

The most common offence was acts intended to cause injury.