Crime in Western Australia is tackled by the Western Australia Police and the Western Australian legal system.
History Massacres of indigenous Australians
A number of massacres of Aboriginal Australians, some as part of the frontier wars, occurred from the 1830s until well into the 20th century. Few of the perpetrators were ever brought to justice.
Bushrangers The colony had its share of bushrangers in the 19th century, the most well-known of whom was "Moondyne Joe". Death Penalty Capital punishment in Western Australia was formally removed from the statutes of the state with the passage of the Acts Amendment (Abolition of Capital Punishment) Act 1984. Premier Brian Burke later called this his "proudest achievement".
Western Australia was the second last state in which capital punishment was legal.
Crime statistics
2003–2004 Western Australia recorded lower rates than most other states in Australia for violent offences, but had the highest rate of burglary. In 2003 the prison population increased by 3.4% with a similar increase in 2004.Reports and statistics Portal at Faculty of Law, University of Western Australia
2007–2008 84 homicides, 3,903 sexual assaults, 22,708 assaults and 1,849 robberies were recorded, with a total of 33,890 offences against the person.
39,482 incidents of burglary and 82,963 incidents of theft were recorded, with a total of 177,846 offences against property.
2008–2009 The chance of being a victim of physical assault was 3.8%. In comparison, the Northern Territory rated 5.7% and New South Wales, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory each rated 2.8%. The rate of assault was 2,199 offenders per 100,000 people, compared with the Northern Territory's 4,832 and the Australian Capital Territory's 1,096.
The chance of being a victim of a break-in in Western Australia was 5.1%. This compared to the Northern Territory's 7.7% and Tasmania's rate of 2.6%.
68 homicides, 3,753 sexual assaults, 22,869 assaults and 1,862 robberies were recorded, with a total of 34,492 offences against the person. 36,364 incidents of burglary and 86,487 incidents of theft were recorded, in a total of 169,263 offences against property.
2009–2010 Australian Bureau of Statistics figures for 2009/10 showed that police action was taken against 2072.1 people per 100,000 head of population in WA.
The chance of being a victim of break-in was 5.2%.
76 homicides, 3,246 sexual assaults, 22,394 assaults and 1,70293 robberies were recorded in Western Australia, in a total of 32,922 offences against the person. 30,043 incidents of burglary, 73,215 incidents of theft were recorded in a total of 143,844 offences against property.
2010–2011 The chance of being a victim of physical assault was 3.6%. This compared to the Northern Territory rate of 5.8% and the lowest, Victoria's, rate of 2.0%.
The chance of being a victim of break-in was 3.7%, a significant drop from the previous two years. The highest-rating Northern Territory scored 6.8% and the lowest, Victoria, 2.2%.
103 homicides, 2,900 sexual assaults, 22,854 assaults and 1,793 robberies were recorded in a total of 32,479 offences against the person. 35,555 incidents of burglary and 77,897 incidents of theft were recorded in a total of 152,649 offences against property.
2011–2012 91 homicides, 2,645 sexual assaults, 22,818 assaults and 1,777 robberies were recorded in a total of 32,091 offences against the person. 36,551 incidents of burglary and 85,541 incidents of theft were recorded in a total of 160,445 offences against property.
2013–2014 Police statistics showed 86 homicides, 3,645 sexual assaults, 16,236 violent assaults, and 106 robberies.
2014–2015 Police recorded 88 homicides, 3,159 sexual assaults, 27,664 domestic and non-domestic assaults, and 1,359 robberies.
2015 Beginning with 2015, the government of Western Australia began publishing more detailed statistics.
In 2015, the government of Western Australia reported 290,895 total offences, broken down into several categories:
Selected Offences Against the Person: 42,569 Selected Offences Against Property: 175,195 Detected Offences: 39,147 Miscellaneous Offences: 33,984
2016 In 2016, the Western Australian crime rate was up roughly 1.4% from the prior year, with a reported 294,952 offences.
Selected Offences Against the Person: 47,261 Selected Offences Against Property: 170,269 Detected Offences: 45,972 Miscellaneous Offences: 31,030
2017 In 2017, the Western Australian crime rate was down roughly 5.8% from the prior year, with a reported 277,872 offences.
Selected Offences Against the Person: 45,203 Selected Offences Against Property: 156,913 Detected Offences: 41,426 Miscellaneous Offences: 34,330
2018 In 2018, the Western Australian crime rate was up by roughly 3.7% from the prior year, with a reported 288,053 offences.
Selected Offences Against the Person: 44,734 Selected Offences Against Property: 155,296 Detected Offences: 42,407 Miscellaneous Offences: 45,616
2019 In 2019, the Western Australian crime rate was down by roughly 0.08% from the prior year, with a reported 287,816 offences.
Selected Offences Against the Person: 46,270 Selected Offences Against Property: 157,932 Detected Offences: 39,054 Miscellaneous Offences: 44,560
2020 In 2020, the Western Australian crime rate was down by roughly 17.2% from the prior year, with a reported 238,168 offences.
Selected Offences Against the Person: 51,985 Selected Offences Against Property: 111,395 Detected Offences: 36,596 Miscellaneous Offences: 38,192
2021 In 2021, the Western Australian crime rate was up by roughly 5.2% from the prior year, with a reported 250,610 offences.
Selected Offences Against the Person: 54,015 Selected Offences Against Property: 123,266 Detected Offences: 28,457 Miscellaneous Offences: 44,872
2022 In 2022, the Western Australian crime rate was up by roughly 3.8% from the prior year, with a reported 260,103 offences.
Selected Offences Against the Person: 58,108 Selected Offences Against Property: 128,322 Detected Offences: 26,910 Miscellaneous Offences: 46,763
2023 In 2023, the Western Australian crime rate was up by roughly 10.7% from the prior year, with a reported 288,026 offences.
Selected Offences Against the Person: 66,942 Selected Offences Against Property: 138,555 Detected Offences: 31,978 Miscellaneous Offences: 50,551
2024 In 2024, the Western Australian crime rate was up by roughly 1.6% from the prior year, with a reported 292,605 offences.
Selected Offences Against the Person: 75,984 Selected Offences Against Property: 133,439 Detected Offences: 36,744 Miscellaneous Offences: 46,438
Indigenous imprisonment rates
A leading researcher in prison reform, Gerry Georgatos, said in 2014 that one in thirteen of all Aboriginal adult males in WA is in prison. He stated that this is the highest jailing rate in the world, with WA "...the highest jailer from a racialised lens of our Aboriginal people".
See also List of people legally executed in Western Australia Civil disturbances in Western Australia Crime in Australia Indigenous Australians and crime Western Australia Police
References
External links
Further reading