The Far West and Orana regions continue to have the highest rate of domestic violence related assaults in NSW, according to the latest figures from the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR).
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The latest crime data, released this month, showed that in the 12 months to September 2017, police recorded 1245 incidents of domestic violence related assaults in the Far West and Orana.
That’s compared to 1242 incidents in the previous 12 month period, revealing that while the number of domestic assaults dropped across NSW for the first time in nine years, the Far West and Orana remained stable.
However, when viewed over a 24 month period, the region saw a 13.5 per cent drop in the number of recorded incidents.
When calculated as a rate per 100,000 people, the Far West and Orana was the only statistical area with a rate more than twice the state average for the crime for the fifth year in a row.
The region’s rate in 2017 was 2.7 times the state average.
The region was also home to six of the state’s worst 20 hot spots for the crime.
Walgett ranked first in the state with 2276.7 incidents of domestic violence per 100,000 people. It was 6.2 times the state average, and a jump of about 13 per cent from the previous year (from 128 to 145).
Gilgandra leapt from tenth in the state to fifth, with its rate of domestic violence increasing by six per cent. But in real terms, Gilgandra only saw 38 recorded incidents, up from 36 the previous year, meaning the higher ranking had more to with falling rates in other areas.
It wasn’t all bad news for the region, with Cobar witnessing a 20.4 per cent drop in recorded incidents (from 44 to 35) and dropping from ninth in the state for the crime to 14th.
In Coonamble, which was the state’s third worst offender, there was a 19.3 per cent drop in incidents (from 57 to 46), although the region’s rate per 100,000 was still 3.1 times the state average.
The Dubbo Regional area – Dubbo and Wellington – saw a 7.1 per cent fall in domestic violence related incidents, and remained the twelfth worst area of NSW for the crime with a rate exactly twice the state average.
Prior to amalgamation, in the 12 months to September 2017, the Dubbo local government area (LGA) had a rate just 1.9 times the state average, while Wellington’s rate was 2.9 time the NSW rate.
The rate of domestic violence Narromine was also exactly twice the state average, but remained stable with 49 incidents in the year to September 2017 compared with 50 incidents the previous year.