South Australia has achieved the lowest rate of home break-ins in the country, according to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The latest annual Crime Victimisation survey, released yesterday, shows yet another decline in crime rates across several major categories for the 2023-24 period in the state.
South Australia’s crime victimisation rates have been shown to be consistently lower in many areas, including break-ins, threatened assault, and malicious property damage. A notable decrease in household crimes has been recorded, with break-ins decreasing by 300 incidents, settling at 11,600 households. Attempted break-ins also saw a reduction of 400 incidents, now recorded at 10,400, while reports of malicious property damage decreased by 3,400 to 23,400 incidents.
Earlier ABS data also showed a sharp drop in young offenders and overall crime in the state. The data showed a 17% drop in youth offenders aged 10 to 17, with only 1,812 facing police action in 2023-24.
The rate of youth offenders per 100,000 people now stands at 1,028, which is less than half the rate observed in New South Wales and much lower than the national average of 1,764. This statistic is a significant improvement from the 2,072 rate recorded in 2018-19.
Attorney-General Kyam Maher voiced his approval of the positive trend. “This Government takes community safety incredibly seriously, and we’re continuing to deliver policies that are tough on crime and support our law enforcement agencies,” Maher said. “Recent figures show our approach is working, with crime statistics improving in a number of key areas. We will continue our work with South Australia Police, victims advocacy groups and others to ensure we have robust laws that help us fight crime.”
Minister for Police Stephen Mullighan also commented on the data. “The Labor Government is investing more funds and resources to boost frontline policing and reduce crime,” Mullighan said. “These latest statistics support recent SAPOL data which shows crime across the state is falling.”
“These results demonstrate the Malinauskas Labor Government’s $330 million investment in SA Police, together with tough new laws and nation-leading safety policies are having a positive impact in the community,” Mullighan added.
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