❓ Mr. Katsambanis asks about assaults against seniors in WA from 2017-2019, including breakdowns by region, violent crimes, and elder abuse. The WA Police Force provides detailed statistics on reported cases.
AnsweredQoN 5092Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer the Minister to statistics on assaults against seniors, and ask: (a) How many cases of assaults against seniors were recorded for 2017 and 2018; (b) How many cases of assaults against seniors have been recorded to date in 2019; (c) For 2017-2019 what is the breakdown of these statistics between metropolitan Perth and regional Western Australia; (d) Of the cases reported between 2017-2019, how many were violent crimes against seniors; and (e) Of the cases reported between 2017-2019, how many were elder abuse against seniors, including financial abuse and neglect?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
13 June 2019
Responded by
Minister for Police; Road Safety
Response time
11 days
The Western Australian Police Force advise:
(a) In 2017 there were 638 assaults, while in 2018 there were 661. The rate of assaults per 100,000 seniors was 190.6 in 2017, and 189.5 in 2018.
(b) 244.
(c) Metropolitan WA: 2017 485, 2018 506, 2019 YTD 186. Regional WA: 2017 153, 2018 155, 2019 YTD 58.
(d) All assaults are classified as violent crimes.
(e) 627.
Year to date figures are to 30 April 2019. Statistics are provisional and subject to revision. Statistics are of offences reported to or becoming known to police within the stated time period that have not been recorded with an outcome of Entered in Error, Falsely Reported, Mistakenly Reported, No Criminal Offence, or Offence Substituted. Counting Rules have been applied which exclude facilitation and duplication offences in specific circumstances. These rules are applied to certain reporting categories in order to provide a more accurate picture of crime volumes and trends. Counting Rules are applied historically to ensure comparability. ‘Seniors’ have been defined as persons aged 66 years and over at the time of the offence. Where the date the offence occurred is unknown the victim’s age at the time the offence was reported has been used instead. Offences are not included if the victim’s age is unknown. For the purposes of this response – ‘violent crimes’ has been taken as encompassing all offence types categorised as Offences Against the Person in standard crime statistics reports. Statistics for ‘elder abuse’ are of offences committed against seniors where the ‘elder abuse’ flag was marked in the Incident Management System. As such figures in (e) will exclude any elder abuse flagged offences committed against persons aged less than 66. The correctness and completeness of these statistics is dependent on the operational assessment of officers, as well as the accuracy of subsequent recording. The rate of assault incorporates Estimated Residential Population (ERP) figures obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The latest published ERP figures recorded the number of persons aged 66 and above as 321,769 in 2016, 334,779 in 2017, and 348,726 in 2018.
(a) In 2017 there were 638 assaults, while in 2018 there were 661. The rate of assaults per 100,000 seniors was 190.6 in 2017, and 189.5 in 2018.
(b) 244.
(c) Metropolitan WA: 2017 485, 2018 506, 2019 YTD 186. Regional WA: 2017 153, 2018 155, 2019 YTD 58.
(d) All assaults are classified as violent crimes.
(e) 627.
Year to date figures are to 30 April 2019. Statistics are provisional and subject to revision. Statistics are of offences reported to or becoming known to police within the stated time period that have not been recorded with an outcome of Entered in Error, Falsely Reported, Mistakenly Reported, No Criminal Offence, or Offence Substituted. Counting Rules have been applied which exclude facilitation and duplication offences in specific circumstances. These rules are applied to certain reporting categories in order to provide a more accurate picture of crime volumes and trends. Counting Rules are applied historically to ensure comparability. ‘Seniors’ have been defined as persons aged 66 years and over at the time of the offence. Where the date the offence occurred is unknown the victim’s age at the time the offence was reported has been used instead. Offences are not included if the victim’s age is unknown. For the purposes of this response – ‘violent crimes’ has been taken as encompassing all offence types categorised as Offences Against the Person in standard crime statistics reports. Statistics for ‘elder abuse’ are of offences committed against seniors where the ‘elder abuse’ flag was marked in the Incident Management System. As such figures in (e) will exclude any elder abuse flagged offences committed against persons aged less than 66. The correctness and completeness of these statistics is dependent on the operational assessment of officers, as well as the accuracy of subsequent recording. The rate of assault incorporates Estimated Residential Population (ERP) figures obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The latest published ERP figures recorded the number of persons aged 66 and above as 321,769 in 2016, 334,779 in 2017, and 348,726 in 2018.
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