NSW Recorded Crime Statistics quarterly update June 2025

The latest statistics reveal significant increases in two major offence categories, sexual assault and retail theft, over the two years to June 2025.

• Sexual assault reports increased by 8.8% over the past two years, continuing a decade-long trend of annual growth averaging 10% per year. Much of the increase is due to more reporting. Since January 2023, NSW Police have accepted sexual assault reports online through the Sexual Assault Reporting Option (SARO); last year 23% of all reports were reported through SARO. Reports via SARO accounted for 39% of the rise since 2015/16, while direct reports to police made up 45%. From this quarter onwards, BOCSAR will release a new Sexual Assault in NSW quarterly report to accompany existing Crime Statistics reporting (attached).
• Retail theft incidents rose 5.1% over the past two years and increased nearly 30% over the past 10 years. The most commonly stolen objects in 2024/25 were liquor (involved in 40% of thefts where an item was recorded), followed by clothing and footwear (24%) and food (14%).

Four offences declined significantly over the past two years: break and enter dwelling (down 10.2%), break and enter non-dwelling (down 3.1%), steal from motor vehicle (down 11.3%), and malicious damage to property (down 6.1%). The other seven offences remained stable.

Youth Crime: Police court proceedings and court diversions for young people were stable over both the two, and ten years to June 2025. In the two years to June 2025, young people proceeded against to court declined significantly by 12.3% in Regional NSW (but were stable in Greater Sydney).

Regional Crime declines: Some parts of Regional NSW are reporting large crime declines this quarter.  Figures are particularly positive for Far West and Orana and Central West.