ARTICLE
24 January 2025

Danger in the Dark

AL
Astor Legal

Contributor

Led by Accredited Specialist Avinash Singh, Astor Legal offers expert knowledge in criminal and traffic law, focusing on achieving the best outcome for clients. With experience representing elite athletes, the firm has a strong reputation among Magistrates and Judges. Offering fixed fees and 24/7 availability, Astor Legal provides quality legal representation typically reserved for Australia's elite to everyday people. Contact them for assistance.
Between October 2023 and September 2024, New South Wales recorded a staggering 141,161 crimes against individuals.
Australia Criminal Law

In the year between October 2023 and September 2024, New South Wales recorded a staggering 141,161 crimes against individuals. Alarmingly, almost half (46.9%) of these incidents occurred under the cover of darkness, between 6 PM and 6 AM. These chilling statistics underscore the importance of nighttime personal safety.

In this research, we analysed data from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research to uncover the safest and most dangerous Local Government Areas (LGAs) to be out at night.

Discover how your local area ranks in the interactive maps below.

Night-time Crime Rates by LGA - Combined*

Rate of Criminal Offences Occurring between 6pm - 6am

Click below to toggle between offences. Hover over LGAs for details.
MurderDomestic AssaultNon-Domestic Assault
RobberySexual OffencesAbduction & Kidnapping
Intimidation, Stalking & Harassment Combined SydneySydneyNewcastleNewcastleHillBrokenHillBrokenGriffithGriffithArmidaleArmidaleDubboDubboOrangeOrangeAlburyAlburyWollongongWollongong

What are the most dangerous areas in NSW at night?

Walcha, located about an hour east of Tamworth, is NSW's most dangerous area at night, with almost half (46%) of all criminal offences in the area happening at night. Walcha holds the highest night-time incident rate of 28,405.3 per 100,000 residents. During the analysed period, the LGA had a total of 855 night-time offences and just over 30% of these incidents were related to alcohol.

Ranking in second place is Weddin, located about 2 hours inland from Orange. Weddin has a night-time incident rate of 13,420 per 100,000 residents and over half (52%) of crimes happen during the night. Interestingly, 41% of night-time crimes in Weddin are alcohol-related, 11% more than the most dangerous area at night, Walcha.

When looking at Greater Sydney, Woollahra is the LGA that ranks as the most dangerous at night with an incident rate of 2,906.3 per 100,000. The LGA ranks fifth overall in NSW with 49% of criminal offences occurring at night and a third (33%) of these were related to alcohol. Ranking second in Greater Sydney is Sydney (1,852.4 per 100,000) followed by Campbelltown (1,036.8 per 100,000).

What are the safest areas in NSW at night?

Wagga Wagga is named the safest LGA in NSW, with only 60 night-time incidents per 100,000 residents. Between October 2023 and September 2024, there were only 41 night-time offences in Wagga Wagga, and almost half of these (46%) were alcohol-related. Following in second place is the Upper Hunter Shire, with a rate of 111.9 night-time incidents per 100,000. Of these offences, only 31% (5) were related to alcohol.

In Greater Sydney, the safest area during the night is Willoughby, which has an incident rate of only 139.1 per 100,000. Willoughby also ranks third lowest in all of NSW. Half (50%) of night-time incidents in Willoughby were related to alcohol. Interestingly, Greater Sydney's top three safest LGAs at night are all located in Sydney's North Shore, with Waverley ranking second (187.5 per 100,000) followed by Ku-Ring-Gai (188.4 per 100,000) in third.

What types of crimes occur most frequently at night?

The main category of criminal offence occurring between the hours of 6 pm and 6 am is domestic violence-related assault (28.4%), followed closely by intimidation, stalking and harassment (27.7%). Interestingly, almost half (49.7%) of domestic violence incidents occur at night, with 37.8% of them being related to alcohol.

In NSW, the leading LGAs for night-time domestic violence assault are Walgett, Moree Plains and Coonamble. In Greater Sydney, Sydney, Campbelltown and Blacktown fared worst. When it comes to non-domestic violence assault, Coonamble recorded the highest rate of incidents, followed by Walgett and Sydney. Walgett also takes the lead when it comes to the rate of night-time incidents of intimidation, stalking and harassment, followed by Coonamble and Broken Hill.

Night sexual offences record the highest incident rate in Lachlan, Warrumbungle Shire and Narromine. Narromine is also the LGA with the highest incidence rate of abduction and kidnapping, followed by Snowy Monaro and Leeton. Robbery is most common at night in Moree Plains, Sydney and Griffith LGAs. Although murder makes up only 0.1% of night-time crime in NSW, the LGAs with the highest rates are Narromine, Forbes and Richmond Valley.

Night-time Crime in NSW

Breakdown of selected offences by number of Incidents occurring between 6pm - 6am

1573550a.jpg

Find out how your LGA ranks here:

Night-time Crime Rates by LGA

Click to filter by offence type or region:
Murder / Domestic Assault / Non-Domestic Assault / Robbery / Sexual Offences
Abduction & Kidnapping / Intimidation, Stalking & Harassment / Combined

Greater Sydney / Rest of NSW / NSW Totals

About the Data

We've used data obtained from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) to identify the location, prevalence and trend of selected criminal offences perpetrated against individuals at night (between 6pm and 6am) and those that are alcohol-related^.

The data is categorised under the following criminal offences: murder*, domestic** and non-domestic violence related assault, robbery, sexual offences, abduction and kidnapping, and intimidation, stalking and harassment. 12 month totals are used from October 2023 to September 2024, inclusive, with 4 year trend data comparing annual totals for the same period dating back to October 2020.

Location is defined by Local Government Areas (LGAs). Prevalence is determined by the incident rate per 100,000 population. Rates for Local Government Areas with populations of less than 3000 are not published (n.p.) because their recorded crime rate can be unreliable. Note that this data relates to estimated residential populations so rates should be interpreted cautiously for LGAs that have high visitor numbers (e.g. Sydney LGA).

You can view the full methodology here.

^ Incidents flagged as 'alcohol related' in Table 1 capture incidents police know to be alcohol related.

* The murder counts reflect the number of individual victims and not the number of incidents.

** Regarding domestic violence related assault, NSW Police flag whether or not a criminal incident is domestic violence related based on the definition of domestic violence from the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

Mondaq uses cookies on this website. By using our website you agree to our use of cookies as set out in our Privacy Policy.

Learn More