Alarming new figures show a significant increase in the number of sexual assaults reported in the Hunter Valley over the past two years.
The New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research has released its quarterly update, revealing in the 24 months to March this year, there were 639 reports of sexual assault across the region.
That’s an increase of 18.8%.
This figure does not include the city of Newcastle.
The update does however show a 49% increase in the number of robberies without a weapon in the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie areas.
Across New South Wales, the number of recorded sexual assaults rose by 7.9% and domestic assaults were up by 4.1%.
The statistics for other violent crimes, including murder, remained stable.
While the number of thefts from a person trended down by 10.4%.
