MEDIA STATEMENT Monday, April 2, 2007
STRICTLY EMBARGOED: 6.00AM, TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 2007
LATEST RESEARCH INDICATES BURGLARY DECLINE MAY HAVE ENDED
A new report from The University of Western Australia’s Crime Research Centre indicates that a decline in the rate of WA burglaries over the past 10 years may have ended.
Researchers Frank Morgan and Joe Clare said they used surveys and recorded crime to obtain more reliable evidence on burglary trends in Western Australia and to put the state patterns into a national and international context.
“The report flags some of the factors associated with both burglary risks and trends,” Mr Morgan said.
The main findings of the study were:
· Western Australian burglary rates rose by a quarter (24 per cent) between 1993 and 1995 and then declined by between 44 per cent and 47 per cent between 1995 and 2005.
· By 2005 burglary rates were one-third lower than they were in 1993.
· Survey and recorded crime data paint a relatively consistent picture of trends, but survey data indicate earlier declines in burglary from 1998 onwards, while recorded crime data point to a delayed but more rapid decline after 2002.
· Other states also experienced burglary reductions between 1993 and 2005.
· Burglary declined faster in metropolitan Perth than in non-metropolitan areas.
· Declines in Australian break-in rates have generally lagged behind those in the United States and the United Kingdom.
· Monthly data for 2005 and 2006 indicate that burglary counts have stabilised and that extra initiatives may be needed to generate further reductions.
The burglary report is the first in the Crime Research Centre’s new series of bulletins entitled: i on crime
Further research will examine the drivers of burglary trends in detail. Web access to the report will be available (from Tuesday, April 3, 2007) at: http://www.crc.law.uwa.edu.au/
MEDIA REFERENCE:
Frank Morgan 61 8 6488 3839 (Work)
0404 856 081 (Mobile)
Simone Hewett / Francesca Robb 61 8 6488 7977
(UWA Public Affairs) 0420 790 097 / 0420 790 098
Media Release [PDF, 35KB]
Burglary Bulletin, i on crime, No. 1 [PDF, 960KB]
| 
