Crime rates fall in NSW except for fraud

The latest crime figures for NSW show the rates of most major crime types except fraud have fallen. Source: AAP

ALL major types of crime in NSW except fraud have either fallen or remained stable in the two years to September, latest crime statistics show.

Despite constant reports of gang-related shootings in Sydney, the latest quarterly crime report released on Thursday by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research show shooting incidents have returned to their long-term average.

Recorded drug possession offences showed a lift but the bureau says those increases could be due to more intensive law enforcement rather than increased drug use.

The figures show fraud offences over the period increased by 20.7 per cent.

Most of that increase came from unauthorised use of credit cards and bank cards, while failing to pay for petrol from service stations accounted for six per cent of the increase. Eight of the major criminal offences showed significant downward trends.

These included non-domestic assault, robbery without a weapon, break and enter offences, motor vehicle theft, steal from motor vehicle, steal from person and malicious damage to property.

There were sizeable increases in a number of recorded drug possession offences, including possession of cocaine (up 45.3 per cent), amphetamines (up 13.6 per cent and other drugs (up 23.2 per cent).

"These increases may be due to more intensive law enforcement rather than increased drug use," the bureau said in a statement.

It said the biggest problems within the Greater Sydney area were fraud and stealing from a retail store, while Coffs Harbour-Grafton, Illawarra and Richmond-Tweed all experienced substantial increases in fraud incidents.

Most other parts of regional NSW experienced either stable or falling crime trends in most other categories of crime.

One notable exception to this was for the New England and North West Statistical Area, which experienced a 64 per cent increase in robbery with a weapon other than a firearm.

In the Greater Sydney area, non-domestic assaults were up by 28.8 per cent in Ryde, sexual assaults were up by 25.5 per cent in the inner southwest, indecent assaults and related offences were up 44.1 per cent in the inner west and robbery without a weapon was up 23.8 per cent in Parramatta.

NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione welcomed the latest data, showing 16 of the 17 major crime categories either stable or falling and significant decreases in eight of those categories.

The figures showed that in the past 12 months there had been a decline in incidents of discharging firearms into premises by 52.7 per cent, he said in a statement.

Mr Scipione said the bureau had noted that police were actively working to reduce gun crime through increased weapons searches and uncovering of unlicensed firearms.

Mr Scipione said there had been a 9.5 per cent increase in safe firearm storage inspections, with 45,135 inspections conducted in the 12 months to September 2013.

He said the notable rise in fraud offences served as a warning for people to take all possible precautions to protect the security of their banking details, particularly credit cards.

"We know there are criminal gangs out there committing fraud via card skimming and on-line deception offences," he said.

Mr Scipione said failing to pay for petrol was a preventable crime with pay-before-you-pump an obvious strategy to prevent such offences.

He praised the "dedication and tenacity" of NSW police officers for the positive crime figures.

Acting Police Minister Greg Smith said the decreases were a win for police and for communities across NSW.

"Across NSW, over the five years to September 2013, violent offences have decreased on average each year by 1.9 per cent," he said in a statement.

"These statistics highlight how police are doing a fantastic job targeting people associated with gun crime and are getting in their faces every day."

Mr Smith said the NSW government was committed to driving down crime and would continue to give police the resources they need.

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