New South Wales Police – More Men Report Domestic Violence As Home Violence Rises In All Categories As Worst Suburbs Revealed

As domestic violence between partners has escalated over the last year, so has the number of parents reporting being assaulted by their children along with an increase in triple-0 calls.

In the 24 months to March this year, the number of recorded domestic assaults increased by six per cent overall with men reporting domestic assaults making up 19 per cent of that increase and parents reporting violence at the hands of their children making up 12 per cent.

“We are increasingly seeing police call outs for domestic violence,” Jackie Fitzgerald, acting executive director of the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, said.

But she said it was difficult to know whether there were more incidents or whether victims just felt more comfortable about calling police. Of the increase in domestic assault rates, 13 per cent was made up of siblings assaulting each other.

The murder rate has soared by 39 per cent over the past 12 months, with a number of the killings domestic violence-related, but BOCSAR said that was due to an unusually small number of murders at 53 in the previous 12 months compared to 74 last year which is closer to average.

Ten years ago there were between 80 or 90 murders a year.

NSW Police corporate spokesman for domestic and family violence, Assistant Commissioner Mark Jones, said even one murder was one too many and police would continue to work hard to combat domestic violence.

Under the spotlight is far western NSW and Orana where domestic violence rates increased by 26.8 per cent.

Assistant Commissioner Jones said the police had concentrated resources in those regions with the domestic violence high risk offenders teams targeting the most serious and prolific offenders and checks on perpetrators and victims of Apprehended Domestic Violence Orders being ramped up.

“It’s hard to put our finger on how the rate has gone up but we would like to think it’s more that people have greater confidence in reporting,” he said

Despite the increase, less than 20 per cent of domestic violence incidents are reported.

More men were contacting Rape and Domestic Violence Services Australia and most of those who reported the violence to police were in same-sex relationships, executive officer Karen Willis said.

“We are at a turning point where we can’t go back to the old days where stuff like this was hidden behind close doors,” Ms Willis said.

The latest crime statistics also show an escalation in property crime with a 57.3 per cent increase in break and enter industrial buildings in the Baulkham Hills and Hawkesbury area and a 29.9 per cent increase in the Outer West and Blue Mountains region. The Northern Beaches where there has been an increase in drug-fuelled teen mayhem, there has been a 25.1 per cent increase in shoplifting.

Source: The Daily Telegraph Australia