The Australian Institute of Criminology's Facts and Figures 2002 publication shows that robbery has increased steadily since 1995. Police recorded 26,565 victims of robbery during 2001, a 14 per cent increase on the number recorded in 2000. Of the robberies recorded in 2001, 59 per cent were unarmed, and 41 per cent were armed. The number of both armed and unarmed robberies between 1995 and 2001 display correlated trends. Both peaked in March 2001, when there were 1,112 armed robberies and 1,572 unarmed robberies. Since then, however, the number of both armed and unarmed robberies has declined by an average of five per cent each month.
Number of robbery victims by month, 1995-2001 [see attached PDF for graph]
Source
- Australian Crime: Facts and Figures 2002, Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra.