Domestic violence and sexual assault cases increase in the Orana and Far West region

This is five per cent more than the state average for the same time frame.

Jackie Fitzgerald, Executive Director of the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research said that many crimes fell sharply during the COVID lockdowns.

"Fortunately for the community, many property crimes are yet to recover," she said.

By contrast, police reports of domestic violence assault and sexual assaults have shown significant increases over the last five years:

The five-year increase in domestic and sexual assaults was driven by increases in both metropolitan Sydney areas and regional communities.

In the five years to September 2022, domestic violence assault increased 13.1 per cent in NSW.

However, in the Orana and Far West region it increased by 18 per cent in that same five-year period.

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In the 12-months to September 2022, there were 1644 domestic violence assaults reported in the Orana and Far West region.

That figure was up from 1621 domestic violence assaults in the previous 12 months in the region.

State-wide, sexual assault increased by 25.9 per cent in the five-year reporting period. Over that same time frame, it increased by 19.6 per cent in the Orana and Far West region.

There were 213 sexual assaults and 244 cases of sexual touching and other sexual offences in the 12 months to September 2022. March 2022 saw 35 sexual assault incidents reported while there were 41 recorded cases of sexual touching and other sexual offences in the same month.

Five years ago there were 178 sexual assaults and 268 other sexual offences in the Orana and Far West region.

There were 197 cases of sexual touching, sexual acts and other sexual offences in the 12 months leading up to September 2021.

Non-domestic violence related assault decreased 4.5 per cent over the five year period leading up to September 2022.

In the 12 months leading up to September 2022 there were 984 cases reported to police in the Orana and Far West region.

This was down on the previous year which saw 999 incidents reported.

The five-year increase in domestic and sexual assaults was driven by increases in both metropolitan Sydney areas and regional communities. For domestic assaults, the largest increases were seen in Murray (up 48 per cent), Sutherland (up 45 per cent) and Baulkham Hills (up 40 per cent).

The biggest increases in recorded incidents of sexual assault were seen in Sutherland, up 80 per cent; Hunter Valley, up 50 per cent; Southern Highlands, up 46 per cent; and Inner West Sydney, up 42 per cent.

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