Domestic violence at all time high while burglary offences decline according to Mid West-Gascoyne police data

Violence behind closed doors continues to soar in the Mid West-Gascoyne district, with family and domestic assaults rising 29 per cent in the past financial year, while burglaries are on the decline. The latest police crime data has revealed an alarming rise in domestic violence reports across the region, jumping 29 per cent in 2023-24. That is 2361 cases up from 1829 in 2022-23, or 6.5 reports received every day compared to five. Alarmingly, perpetrators were caught breaching family violence restraining orders 549 times, up 109 per cent from the previous year’s 262. Local police are also tackling a surge in general violence, as assaults rose 12 per cent in 2023-24. Geraldton Police officer-in-charge Sen. Sgt Chris Martin said tackling family and domestic violence was a priority for WA Police. “Victim safety is considered in all instances and to assist with this we have partnered with other agencies to ensure the best possible outcomes for victims,” he said. “Everyone deserves to live without fear of violence and the Western Australian Police Force will be there in times of need.” On a positive note, burglaries in the Mid West-Gascoyne have steadily declined in the past three years. Burglary offences decreased 25 per cent since 2021-22 and dropped 16 per cent in the previous year alone. In 2023-24, there were 1029 reported burglaries, 1221 in 2022-23 and 1379 in 2021-22. The theft of vehicles and road bikes is also down almost 9 per cent compared to the previous financial year. The same cannot be said for other stealing offences, such as retail theft, up 6.1 per cent (799 incidents in 2022-23 and 848 in 2023-24) and stealing across the board rising 6.6 per cent (2363 in 2022-23 and 2523 in 2023-24). Sen. Sgt Martin said there was a range of factors driving retail theft and police were working closely with retailers on response and crime prevention strategies. “While some people target high-end fashion items or luxury technology goods, there are other people driven by economic factors who steal food items for their family and others who are impacted by longer term social issues that require support from a range of community stakeholders,” he said. “Wherever possible, we police with compassion however regardless of the reasons behind retail theft, where violence is used by offenders it is inexcusable and unacceptable, and a zero-tolerance approach to such violent crime is taken.” Figures show robbery offences are up nine per cent (56 to 61). “Unfortunately, there will always be people in our community who look for opportunities to commit crime. These people target unlocked cars, houses and garages to steal pushbikes, cash, credit cards and mobile phones,” Sen. Sgt Martin said. “We are succeeding in our everyday policing to identify and arrest people engaging in this type of behaviour, but there are things the community can do to assist us in lowering crime.” Police encourage the community lock up, hide valuables from sight and make a report as quick as possible in the event of crime. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) MID WEST-GASCOYNE CRIME SNAPSHOT 2022-23 vs 2023-24 Family assaults up 29 per cent 2022-23: 1829 2023-24: 2361 Breach FVRO up 109 per cent 2022-23: 262 2023-24: 549 Non-family assaults up 12 per cent 2022-23: 911 2023-24: 1020 Assaults against police down 4.5 per cent 2023-24: 128 2022-23: 134 Burglary down 16 per cent 2022-23: 1221 2023-24: 1029 Steal motor vehicle down 8.7 per cent 2022-23: 253 2023-24: 231 Retail theft up 6.1 per cent 2022-23: 799 2023-24: 848 Stealing total up 6.6 per cent 2022-23: 2363 2023-24: 2523 Robbery up 9 per cent 2022-23: 56 2023-24: 61 Recent sex offences down 9.2 per cent 2022-23: 207 2023-24: 188 Historical sex offences down 12 per cent 2022-23: 67 2023-24: 59 Property damage down 6.8 per cent 2022-23: 2135 2023-24: 1989 Arson up 21 per cent 2022-23: 67 2023-24: 81 Drug offences up 12 per cent 2022-23: 1134 2023-24: 1270