Thursday 8 June 2017

Is the Hunter a Crime Hotspot?

BY TYLER FARDELL

The latest crime figures have been released by the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research and it doesn't look good for the Hunter.

The figures were measured over the previous two years and while crime generally decreased statewide, there were a few crime hotspots across NSW.

One of the hotspots was unfortunately the Hunter, which experienced a significant increase in four of the 17 major offences.

Non-domestic assault was up 6.9%, steal from a retail store was up by a whopping 19.6%, steal from a dwelling saw an 8.7% increase while malicious damage to property jumped 9.6%.

This goes against the statistics statewide, where four of the major offences were trending downwards and the remaining 13 were stable.

Deputy Director of the Bureau, Jackie Fitzgerald says the results in the Hunter are concerning.

"This is actually quite an unusual result. We've actually been seeing big decreases in these crimes over the last 10 to 15 years, especially damage to property and stealing from a dwelling. It certainly is concerning."

"The Hunter is one of those areas that seems to be unfortunately going against the statewide trend and has seen significant rises."

Photo source; Police Magazine