Crime & safety
The authoritative source for crime in NSW is the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR), which publishes recorded incidents reported to or detected by NSW Police. Below are the City of Sydney's 12 major offences for the 12 months from April 2025 to March 2026 (the year ending March 2026), with each rate (per 100,000 people) placed next to the NSW rate. The 'vs NSW' column is Sydney's rate divided by the NSW rate: 1.0 means the same as NSW, below 1.0 is lower than NSW, above 1.0 is higher. Read this table together with the CBD context note below before drawing conclusions about personal safety.
New to these terms? Read them in plain English
- Rate per 100,000
- Crime counts adjusted for population, so different-sized places can be compared.
- Compared to NSW (×)
- How the local rate compares to the NSW average (1.0 = the same).
- Recorded incident
- An incident reported to police — not a proven charge or conviction.
- Major offence categories
- The high-level offence groups official rates are calculated for.
- Police Area Command / Police District
- The local NSW Police command responsible for an area.
- BOCSAR
- The official source of NSW recorded-crime data.
- Reporting period
- April 2025 to March 2026 (12 months)Latest BOCSAR recorded-crime release.
- How Sydney compares
- All 12 major offences above the NSW rateThis is the expected pattern for Australia's largest CBD — see the CBD context note below before comparing to residential-only LGAs.
- CBD context — read before comparing
- BOCSAR rates are incidents ÷ resident populationThe City of Sydney LGA has about 237,000 residents but by far the largest daytime worker, retail, tourism and nightlife population of any NSW LGA. Offences concentrated where people work, shop and go out — other stealing, steal from retail, non-domestic-violence assault, robbery — are divided by a comparatively small resident base and read very high as a result. This is a feature of how the rate is calculated for any big CBD, not a statement about the risk to a Sydney resident specifically; BOCSAR does not publish a rate adjusted for worker/visitor numbers.
- Local policing
- NSW Police — Sydney City Police Area Command
- Latest figures & other areas
- BOCSAR Crime Mapping ToolBuild a tailored report and compare any LGA to the NSW rate.
| Offence | Incidents | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other stealing offences | 4,876 | 2,055.0 | 463.1 | 4.44× |
| Non-DV related assault | 2,920 | 1,230.6 | 401.8 | 3.06× |
| Steal from retail store | 2,857 | 1,204.1 | 372.5 | 3.23× |
| Malicious damage to property | 2,243 | 945.3 | 554.7 | 1.70× |
| Domestic violence related assault | 1,223 | 515.4 | 451.9 | 1.14× |
| Steal from motor vehicle | 864 | 364.1 | 295.5 | 1.23× |
| Break & enter (dwelling) | 681 | 287.0 | 212.3 | 1.35× |
| Motor vehicle theft | 584 | 246.1 | 171.2 | 1.44× |
| Sexual assault | 515 | 217.0 | 154.4 | 1.41× |
| Sexual touching & other sexual offences | 509 | 214.5 | 104.1 | 2.06× |
| Break & enter (non-dwelling) | 391 | 164.8 | 91.8 | 1.80× |
| Robbery | 181 | 76.3 | 20.6 | 3.70× |
Major offences in the City of Sydney vs the NSW rate, per 100,000 population, for the 12 months from April 2025 to March 2026. Source: BOCSAR LGA & NSW recorded-crime tables. 'vs NSW' = Sydney rate ÷ NSW rate. See the CBD context note above — rates are calculated against residents only, not the much larger daytime/visitor population.
BOCSAR calculates rates only for these 'major offences', so high-volume justice offences (e.g. breach of bail or AVO) aren't rate-compared here. These are recorded incidents, not convictions, and counts move with population and reporting. The City of Sydney's rates are high across the board largely because BOCSAR divides incident counts by the resident population only (about 237,000), while a large share of these offences (especially theft, retail theft and assault) occur in CBD, retail and nightlife precincts used by a far larger number of workers, shoppers, tourists and visitors each day and night. This pattern is common to Australia's biggest CBD local government areas. For the latest figures, trends and other offence types, use BOCSAR's tools below.
Sources — check it yourself
- BOCSAR — Sydney LGA crime table (XLSX) · Apr 2025 to Mar 2026
- BOCSAR — NSW recorded-crime table (XLSX) · Apr 2025 to Mar 2026
- BOCSAR — Crime statistics by LGA · Updated quarterly
- BOCSAR — Crime Mapping Tool (compare to NSW)
Figures are current as at the dates shown and may change — always confirm with the linked source. See the notice at the bottom of the page for full details and how to report a correction.