Murder a rare event in peaceful Tasmania, new ABS crime figures show

Murder is a thankfully rare occurrence in Tasmania, with the state recording the lowest rate in the nation. However, new ABS crime figures show increases in other offences. DETAILS >>

TASMANIA enjoys the lowest murder rate in the nation, new figures show.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics Recorded Crime figures released today show the state had a victimisation rate for murder of 1.3 per 100,000 people last year.

That is half the rate of Queensland and less than one third the rate experienced in the Northern Territory.

But the figures showed young men under 19 were those most likely to be the victim of homicide.

The largest number of homicide offences occurred in a dwelling and the most common weapon was a knife, the statistics showed.

Tasmania has recorded 54 murders in the last decade — with a high of nine in both 2012 and 2016, the ABS said.

The number of people reporting that they have been the victims of an assault has increased by 22 per cent between 2014 and 2019.

But over the last decade, the incidence of most offences have fallen.

The incidence of sexual assaults was steady, but robberies were down by 30 per cent, mostly due to a fall in unarmed robberies, and the number of car thefts was down 28 per cent.

Abductions remain rare in Tasmania: with just 14 in the last decade.