Myths of Australian Crime

Mark Dapin recently wrote a wonderful piece in the Sydney Morning Herald. It looked at many of the myths that plague my clients about the overwhelming dangers they live with every day. It looked at the myths that we seem to believe about the extremely high levels of violence we have in Australia.

Many people come to me paralysed by the fear they feel about their safety and that of their children. They are convinced they live in a very dangerous place. They are waiting to be assaulted, raped, or home invaded. they look and listen for evidence of the danger they are in.

Mark examined data from the Australian Institute of Criminology and outlined ten myths of about Australian crime. The first myth he addresses is that the murder rate is rising. He wrote that rather than the murder rate increasing, it is the rate of reporting the murder that is rising. In fact murder rates are dropping. In 2008 with a population of 21 and a half million people, only 260 Australians were murdered. the rates have dropped significantly since the 70's. Did any one notice? has it been reported? not a chance! no great story in that.