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• Aspects
• Family
• Child care
• In study and work
• Community
• Health
• Crime and safety
  • Feeling safe
  • Injury
  • Death
  • Victims of crime
    • Trend: overall
    • Table: summary by age (rate)
    • Table: summary by sex (rate)
  • Young offenders
• Economic security
• Demographics
• Age groups
• Essays
• Glossary

What does this mean?

In Kid’s Stats a victim of crime refers to a child or young person who has been on the receiving end of a criminal act.

Why is it important to monitor?

Children and young people may be victims of crime directly, such as being assaulted, or indirectly, such having their possessions stolen during a burglary.

Being a victim of crime can negatively affect a child or young person’s health, well-being, sense of security, safety and hope for the future. It can have lasting consequences, resulting in physical injury, disability or death.

Indicator

The indicator used in Kids’ Stats to monitor victims of crime is:

The number of reported offences against the person for children and young people aged 0-17 years, as a rate per 1000 children and young people aged 0-17 years.

Only incidents recognised as a crime, and subsequently reported to the police are included. Crimes against property, such as burglaries are not included, as these crimes are not directed against an individual.

Main findings

•  From 1996 to 2005 the rate of children and young people reported as victims of robbery was significantly greater than all other offences.
• The rate of kidnapping/abduction has increased steadily from 1996 to 2005, more than doubling from 0.05 per 1,000 to 0.12 per 1,000.
• The rate of victimisation associated with robbery rose sharply from 1996 to 2001, from 0.60 per 1,000 to 1.44 per 1,000, but then just as dramatically declined to 0.62 per 1,000 by 2005.
• Males are approximately five times more likely to be reported as victims of robbery than females. Females are nearly twice as likely to reported as victims of kidnapping or abduction.