Thinking Outside the Cell    Defined Terms    Baker's Dozen Problems   Articles & Reports - Bibliography    W-W-W-W-H-HM   TB-IB-TC-IC

40% approx of lower level crime goes undetected/unreported to police. Over 50% of 'sexual assault' is undetected/unreported

ABS publishes annually the results of its Crime Victimisation Survey.  ABS 4530.0 - Crime Victimisation, Australia, 2018-19 - Explanatory notes informs inter alia that there is “limited information available …… about family and domestic violence” because understandably family members are generally reluctant to acknowledge its existance. 

ABS Excel file ‘Summary Tables 1 to 3a’ is accessible from 4530.0 - Crime Victimisation, Australia, 2018-19 – Downloads.

ABS_Table_1_Reported_Non-ReportedPersonalCrimeRates.xlsx (taken from Table 1 of ‘Summary Tables 1 to 3a’) seeks to snapshot the relative percentage of ‘reported crime’ against ‘unreported crime’.

Below is an extract from ABS_Table_1_Reported_Non-ReportedPersonalCrimeRates.xlsx .

The Sentencing Advisory Council of Victoria categorises criminal offences between Level 1 (most serious) down to Level 9 (least serious) and details maximum jail sentences for each Level of criminal offence.

With the exception of sexual assault, the below listed criminal offences from Table 1 of ‘Summary Tables 1 to 3a’ seem to be Level 5 or a lesser criminal offence.

 

Told police about the most recent incident

  

Did not tell police about the most recent incident

  
 

'000

%%%

'000

%%%

 

PERSONAL CRIMES

 

 

 

 

  

Physical assault

246.0

52.5%

224.1

47.9%

Threatened assault( f)

na

 

na

 

Face-to-face

192.9

35.3%

348.7

63.8%

Non face-to-face

63.6

31.4%

140.4

69.3%

Robbery

37.5

51.1%

34.4

46.9%

Sexual assault (g)

*22.1

28.2%

58.3

74.5%

All selected personal crimes

na

  

na

  

 

HOUSEHOLD CRIMES

Break-in

178.4

77.2%

51.5

22.3%

Attempted break-in

80.1

44.0%

101.5

55.8%

Motor vehicle theft

40.8

88.5%

*6.0

13.0%

Theft from a motor vehicle

127.8

53.1%

112.9

46.9%

Malicious property damage

234.9

53.4%

204.5

46.5%

Other theft (h)

78.5

38.2%

124.3

60.5%

Prima facie, approx. 40% of Level 5 and lesser offences tabled by the Sentencing Advisory Council, Victoria goes unreported or undetected.

Not unsurprisingly, the more serious criminal offences listed Level 1 to Level 4 by the Sentencing Advisory Council, Victoria are more frequently reported to police, with the exception of sexual assault.

 

 

[bottom.htm]