Petrol theft, alcohol and drug use on the rise

Fraud, especially service station fraud involving petrol theft, is on the rise in NSW while the use of alcohol, cocaine and ecstasy is also increasing, the latest crime figures from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research reveal.

Possession or use of other drugs which include (alcohol) up 29.6%, possession or use of cocaine up 37.5% possession or use of ecstasy up 55.4%, while offensive conduct, breaching bail conditions, failing to appear and transport regulatory offences have also increased.

The bureau's director, Don Weatherburn, said the rise in illicit drug offences were "likely to reflect a combination of increased illicit drug use and increased drug law enforcement.

[He's not saying anything about the rise in the use of alcohol because the Sydney Morning Herald forgot to ask him.]

But the incidents of domestic violence have dropped and stealing from a motor vehicle is stable, the statistics show.

The police minister, Tony Kelly, said there was some significant decreases in crime, including a 26 per cent reduction in robbery with a firearm and a 19.2 per cent reduction in robbery with other weapons.

"These figures send one clear message to those who continue to commit crime in our community - you will be caught and charged," Mr Kelly said.

Mr Kelly said that over the past five years there had been significant downward trends in motor vehicle theft, residential and business break and enters and theft from a person.

"The figures also show that fraud is one crime category to record an increase of 19.1 per cent over the past two years, largely due to the increase in petrol prices and service station drive-offs," Mr Kelly said.

"To combat this trend of fuel theft the government has been advising service station operators to adopt a pay-before-you-pump policy."

Related:

NSW recorded crime statistics quarterly updates: September 2008

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