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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Woman blackmails Internet love seeker

A single mother who tricked a man out of thousands of dollars by saying she had diabetes and cancer, has been given a suspended sentence.

Thirty-year-old Jaimi Carlin met her victim on a website called "adult matchmaker" in late 2006.

The Victorian County Court heard she told the married man, identified only as AB, that she had diabetes and ovarian cancer and needed money for an operation.

The court heard AB gave her $18,000, which she spent on cosmetic surgery.

The court heard Carlin refused to have an affair with AB and demanded $50,000 and threatened to tell his wife and family.

Carlin pleaded guilty to blackmail and obtaining property by deception.

She sat in the dock crying as she was sentenced to 20 months jail, suspended for two years.

'Baillieu cousin' fraudster sent to jail

A 36-year-old man who posed as Victorian Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu's first cousin to place $274,000 of bets with two bookmakers has been jailed.

Jason Lawrence Kiselis, 36, created the bogus identity of `Justin Bailleu' with two Melbourne bookmakers, Bill Graham and Rod Clearly, in 2005.

Kiselis then set up phone accounts with the bookies to bet on horse races, County Court Judge Phillip Coish said.

The Melbourne man pleaded guilty to seven charges including deception, theft and passport offences.

Judge Coish said that later in 2005, Kiselis represented himself as a large-scale investor and professional trader.

He purchased $82,000 of shares whilst receiving a Centrelink Newstart allowance at the time.

Kiselis subsequently sold the shares to reap a $3,950 profit.

Judge Coish said that later in 2005 Kiselis purchased a round-the-world ticket and was arrested at Melbourne Airport.

Despite his arrest, Kinselis failed to face a court hearing and fled Australia using a passport under an assumed name.

He was detained on his arrival in Canada and spent 80 days in detention there.

In sentencing, Judge Coish said he had taken into account Kiselis's admission of guilt.

"(I) assess your prospects of rehabilitation as being cloudy," Judge Coish said.

"Your actions were very serious indeed, there are substantial sums of money, you have used dishonestly.

"You have shown a callous disregard for the interests of others," Judge Coish said.

Judge Coish took into account time already served.

He ordered Kiselis to serve four years and six months with a minimum non-parole period of three years jail.

Man jailed for barcode scam

A man has been jailed for using homemade barcodes to get fraudulent discounts on department store goods.

Adelaide police arrested Victorian man Edward Imre Podolak, 37, as he tried to buy his fourth coffee machine with a false barcode, at Tea Tree Plaza shopping centre in April.

They uncovered stacks of fake barcodes in his wallet and car and $25,000 worth of goods at a caravan park at West Beach where he was staying.

Magistrate Ted Iuliano described the scheme as sophisticated and premeditated.

He said Podolak had travelled from his home in Victoria to commit the offences.

The magistrate said he considered Podolak's obsessive compulsive disorder and early guilty pleas in sentencing him to 12 months in jail.

Podolak was given a lighter-than-usual two month non-parole term because he is the sole family carer.