NSW crime stable to June 2026 as police court proceedings rise

Release date: Wednesday, 16 September 2026

Link to report summary:

• NSW Recorded Crime Statistics quarterly update June 2026

Latest crime statistics from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) show recorded crime in NSW remained largely stable over the two years to June 2026, while police-initiated adult court proceedings rose sharply.

Most major offence categories were unchanged, with retail theft the only one of the 13 major crime categories to record a significant increase, up 10.4 per cent. Firearm-related crime also showed no significant increase over the past two years, while several firearm offence categories declined over the past decade.

At the same time, NSW Police initiated 11.6 per cent more adult court proceedings, resulting in more than 19,000 additional defendants set to appear before the courts.  Youth court actions were stable.

"Although crime rates were largely unchanged, the number of adults being brought before the courts increased substantially," said BOCSAR Executive Director Jackie Fitzgerald.

"This represents a marked acceleration in charges compared with the longer-term trend. Adult court proceedings rose by 11.6 per cent in just two years, compared with average annual growth of 2.7 per cent over the past decade. The increase was widespread, with adult court proceedings rising across every metropolitan and regional area of NSW."

Driving offences lead the increase

Driving offences are the most common offences detected by NSW Police and were the biggest contributor to the increase in adult court proceedings (accounting for around 40 per cent of the overall increase). Over the last two years, adults charged with a driving offence increased by 15.1 per cent, reaching 58,725 in 2025/26.

"The increase was due to a sharp rise in court actions for driving while disqualified or suspended from late 2025, leading to a 32.1 per cent increase in legal actions for this offence over the two years to June 2026," Jackie Fitzgerald said. "The rise does not appear to be due to more suspended or disqualified drivers in NSW, but rather increased police enforcement and detection."

Domestic violence charges continue to climb

Court actions for domestic violence offences rose by 14.2 per cent in the last two years, up to 49,435 in 2025/26. This translated to 6,128 additional defendants proceeded to court and accounted for a third of the overall growth in adult court proceedings.

Increased adult court proceedings for domestic violence-related intimidation (up 19.4%), domestic violence assault (up 12.8%) and breaches of apprehended domestic violence orders (up 12.5%) were the drivers of this growth.

"The increase in domestic violence charges is due to both a rise in recorded incidents of intimidation and ADVO breaches, plus a greater likelihood that DV assault suspects will face court action when those incidents are reported," Jackie Fitzgerald said.

Increase in drug possession charges

Adults charged with drug possession increased by 15.8 per cent, or 1,486, over the two years to June 2026, and accounted for almost 10 per cent of the overall growth in adult court proceedings. The largest increases were recorded for amphetamines (up 22.5 per cent), cannabis (up 13.9 per cent), narcotics (up 27.6 per cent) and cocaine (up 18.4 per cent).

“Many of the offence categories behind the increase in adult court proceedings are heavily influenced by police enforcement activity,” Jackie Fitzgerald said. “The rise in charges for driving offences, drug possession and domestic violence matters suggests police are detecting and acting on more incidents, rather than responding to a broad increase in recorded crime.”

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For comment please contact: 

Jackie Fitzgerald, Executive Director, NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics & Research. 

Phone: +61 423 139 687 
Email: jackie.fitzgerald@dcj.nsw.gov.au