NSW Recorded Crime Statistics quarterly update December 2025

The new crime statistics showing data up to December 2025.

Major offence trends: In the 24 months to December 2025, recorded criminal incidents increased for two of the 13 major offence categories – sexual assault and steal from retail store:

• Sexual assault (up 7.9%) - This reflects a long-term pattern of increasing sexual assault reports; in the ten years to 2025, sexual assault reports increased 145.5%; an average increase of 10.5% each year. Much of the short and long term increase in recorded sexual assault is due to increased reporting.

• Steal from retail store (up 9.3%). In the past two years increases have been concentrated in Greater Sydney (up 13.5%) rather than Regional NSW which has remained stable. In 2025, the most commonly shoplifted item was liquor.

• The seven major offences which significantly declined in the two years to December 2025 were: non-domestic violence related assault (down 4.0%), robbery (down 8.9%), break & enter dwelling (down 6.6%), break & enter non-dwelling (down 4.3%), steal from motor vehicle (down 7.0%), other stealing offences (down 2.7%), and malicious damage to property (down 6.5%). The eight remaining major offences were stable.

Regional crime trends: Regional NSW has seen more favourable crime reductions than Greater Sydney over the past two years, however, crime rates remain high in Regional NSW. Four major offence categories fell in Regional NSW over the past two years, with none increasing. By contrast, crime trends in Sydney remained comparatively stable, recording falls in only one offence category, while retail theft saw a significant rise (up 14%). Far West and Orana showed the largest reductions in crime over the past two years but despite these improvements, the region continues to record the highest crime rates in NSW.

Charges against young people and adults: Court proceedings against young people were stable in the two years to December 2025, with youth court actions falling in Regional NSW (down 13.7%), particularly in Far West and Orana, Illawarra, and New England and North West, while remaining stable in Greater Sydney. Over the same period, adult court proceedings rose 7.9% with much of this growth due to more domestic violence legal actions, which rose 9.8% and accounted for around one‑third of the overall increase in adult court proceedings.