Reports of sexual assault in Penrith have increased by 18 per cent in the last five years.
New Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) data, which covers April 2019 to March 2024, reveals the concerning figure.
But BOCSAR Executive Director Jackie Fitzgerald said the increase in sexual assault incidents in Penrith is consistent across NSW.
“Crime has been reasonably stable in Penrith over the past five years,” she said.
“Of the 12 major crime categories, nine were stable, two were trending down and one was trending up.
“The offence of concern is reported sexual assault which increased by 18 per cent in Penrith over the past five years, from 235 recorded incidents in the year to March 2020 to 277 incidents in the year to March 2024.
“For Penrith, the increase is mostly driven by a rise in adult sexual assault victims and historical sexual assault reports.
“The increase in sexual assault reports is consistent with trends we’re seeing across NSW for this offence.”
Other offences in Penrith have seen some changes over the past 12 months.
The number of reported domestic violence related assault incidents were seen to have increased from 1,111 to 1,280 incidents year-on-year.
In this period, there were 472 male victims of domestic violence related assaults and there were 904 female victims of the same offence.
It was recorded that 365 males were the perpetrators of domestic violence related assaults, and 119 females were offenders in the same offence.
Sexual offences remained stable from 2023 to 2024 but saw a total of 471 female victims of the crime with 299 of them being under the age of 17.
Offences of stalking, intimidation and harassment saw 1,017 female victims in the 12-month period.
Perpetrators of the same offence had 357 as males and 104 as females.
Fitzgerald explained that the rise in certain sexual and domestic offences has also seen a rise in the location of where the offences take place across NSW.
“The 15 per cent increase in reports of domestic violence related assaults in NSW is due to an increase in reported family violence, together with an escalation of intimate partner assaults,” she said.
“Non-domestic assaults have increased against adult women and young people.
“Looking at where these offences are occurring, we’ve seen an increase on residential premises (up 18 per cent) and school premises (up 46 per cent).”
Emily Chate
Emily Chate joined The Western Weekender in 2024, and covers local news - primarily courts and politics. A graduate of the University of Wollongong, Emily has contributed to The Daily Telegraph and worked as a freelance journalist.