Sexual assault is rising at a concerning rate in New South Wales (NSW), with police reports more than doubling in a decade and still climbing.
Reports of sexual assault rose 8.8 percent, continuing a decade-long upward trend that has averaged 10 percent growth each year.
Jackie Fitzgerald, executive director of NSW’s crime statistic database BOCSAR, attributed much of the rise to better reporting pathways, including the Sexual Assault Reporting Option (SARO), an online portal introduced in January 2023.
“SARO has proven very popular, with one in four sexual assault reports now submitted through this platform,” she said.
SARO reports account for 39 percent of the increase in sexual assault cases over the past decade, with 42 percent linked to historic child sexual assault reports and 11 percent to contemporary child cases.
Despite the increase in reports, the number of charges laid by police has remained largely unchanged.
As a result, the legal action rate has dropped from 15 percent in 2014/15 to 9 percent in 2023/24.
Retail Theft Surges to Second Spot
Retail theft has also risen, with recorded incidents climbing 5.1 percent in two years, from 28,114 in 2023/24 to 29,552 in 2024/25.Over the past decade, retail theft has grown nearly 30 percent.
Liquor remains the most frequently stolen item, involved in 40 percent of recorded thefts, with spirits such as whiskey and bourbon topping the list.
Clothing and footwear ranked second, making up 24 percent of thefts, while food accounted for 14 percent.
Police laid charges in around 40 percent of retail theft cases, with most offenders adults. However, one in seven charged was a young person aged 10 to 17.
Youth Crime Down, Detention Up
In contrast to rising theft and assault figures, youth crime in regional NSW has fallen.Between June 2023 and June 2025, offences involving young people dropped more than 12 percent. Car thefts were down nearly 25 percent, and robbery and break-in rates remain stable.
NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley acknowledged progress in reducing crime rates but warned that fear remains strong in communities.
She pointed to the case of a 13-year-old charged with stabbing a Moree motelier.
“Statistics are very little comfort to people who have been victims of crime, especially violent crime,” she said in Parliament on Sept. 16.
Despite the fall in youth offences, the number of children in detention has surged. BOCSAR data shows 234 minors are now in custody, up 34 percent in two years, with nearly three in four awaiting trial rather than serving a sentence.
The increase is most pronounced among Aboriginal children, who now make up 60 percent of detainees—the highest level on record.
Regional Property Crime Trending Lower
Property-related offences in regional NSW have fallen sharply overall.BOCSAR’s quarterly update shows break-and-enters, car theft, robbery, and malicious damage all fell by at least 7 percent over the past two years, amounting to an 8.9 percent statewide drop.
The Far West and Orana regions recorded the steepest decline, down 22 percent, while the Riverina fell 16 percent. In some areas of the Central West, car theft and break-ins plunged more than 30 percent.
Police attribute the improvement in regional property crime to operations such as Soteria and Regional Mongoose, as well as tougher bail laws for repeat offenders.
A review of doli incapax—the presumption that children under 14 cannot understand criminal wrongdoing—is also underway.
