A Decade of Crime in South Australia (2014–2024).

Assessment 3 - Storytelling with Open Data

Jyoti Mahajan (S3803845)

Introduction

  • Dataset:

    • This presentation visualises the crime trends in South Australia from 2014 to 2024.
    • The data is an publicly accessible dataset from “https://www.crimestatistics.vic.gov.au/”
    • It includes offence counts, divisions, subgroups, and population rates over a decade 2014–2024.

  • Posed Question:

    • Theft and violence were among the greatest concerns for South Australians in 2014. In 2024, the most prevalent crimes are fraud and justice. What has changed in the past ten years, and what does this reveal about our society?

    • In South Australia, how have crime trends changed over time? What kinds of crimes are most common now?

  • Objective:

    • See the trends in crime over the past 10 years.
    • Emphasise the most common offences and divisions
    • Display the population-adjusted crime rates for 2024.
    • Encourage public safety awareness and policymaking

Total Offences Recorded over a Decade (2014–2024)

  1. The total number of offences recorded each year in South Australia from 2014 to 2024 is displayed in this line graph.
  2. Although the crime rate was moderate at the beginning of the decade (about 500,000 in 2014), the following can be observed:
    • A sharp surge in 2016, indicating either greater reporting, enforcement, or actual criminal activity.
    • There was a severe drop around 2021, which was probably caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (lockdowns, less mobility, etc.).
  3. The highest number of crimes in all these years (more than 600,000) in 2024 is the most alarming trend.
  4. These changes indicate the existence of underlying social, economic, or policy-related factors that have a long-term impact on crime rates.

Distribution of Crime by Division (2024)

  1. The distribution of various crime divisions in 2024 is depicted in the pie chart.
  2. The majority of offences (yellow) are related to property and fraud, suggesting that these were the most prevalent categories of criminal activity.
  3. The second most common crime is crime against the person (red).
  4. A significant part also consists of justice procedural offences (blue).
  5. Smaller percentages are accounted for by drug crimes (green) and public order and security offences (cyan).
  6. The fact that other crimes (pink) are barely noticeable indicates that they occur infrequently. In general, the distribution is dominated by crimes involving property, which are followed by crimes against people and violations of the law.

Top 10 Offence Subgroups (2024)

  1. Based on the number of offences, this horizontal bar chart displays the top ten offence groupings for 2024.
  2. Over 70,000 occurrences of “B42 Steal from a Motor Vehicle” are reported, making it the most common offence.
  3. “E21 Breach of Family Violence Order” comes in second, indicating a significant number of instances involving domestic abuse.
  4. The high number for criminal damage (B21) also suggests that theft involving property is a concern. C32 Drug possession ranks in the top 10, indicating how common drug-related occurrences are.
  5. Crimes of deception such as B53 Obtaining an advantage by deceiving is another important factor.
  6. The top 10 also includes burglaries that are both residential and non-residential (B321 and B322).


Offence Division Trends Accross a Decade

  1. Property and deception offences (Division B) continued to be the most prevalent, exhibiting oscillations with a significant decline around 2020 and a high increase following 2022.
  2. Division A’s crimes against persons showed a consistent rising trend, suggesting a slow rise in violent or personal crimes.
  3. Justice procedures offences (Division E) increased consistently, becoming a more significant category by 2024.
  4. With only slight fluctuations, drug offences (Division C) and public order offences (Division D) continued to make up a small portion of the total crime stress.
  5. Other offences (Division F) experienced a sudden spike in 2020 (likely an anomaly or specific event), but fell sharply thereafter.
  6. All things taken into account, the trend indicates that overall crime has increased since 2022, primarily due to offences involving property and justice.

Average Rate of Offence per 100,000 Population (2024)

  1. The average crime rates per 100,000 people in 2024 are displayed in the chart.
  2. It compares various offence divisions (A to F) using horizontal bars.
  3. The most common offences are those involving property and deception, and are followed by justice procedures.
  4. Crimes against people and drug offences are in the mid-range.
  5. Public order and other offences have the lowest rates.


Conclusion

  1. Over the past ten years, crime patterns in South Australia have changed significantly.

  2. In 2024, property and deception offences emerged as the most common crimes, impacting both individuals and businesses.

  3. Offences related to justice procedures and drugs have gradually increased, indicating deeper social and legal shifts.

  4. Public order offences have either remained steady or decreased, while the growth in drug-related crimes points to changing behaviours and enforcement focus.

  5. Crime distribution is uneven, with some communities experiencing much higher rates than others.

  6. These regional differences emphasize the importance of targeted, data-informed prevention efforts.

  7. The data goes beyond statistics to reveal a narrative of shifting threats and their effects on communities.

  8. Without prompt action, property crimes could become the dominant issue across the state in the near future.

  9. Developing smarter, community-centered strategies is crucial for maintaining public safety and building resilience over time.

  10. Overall, the evolving crime environment calls for well-informed, strategic measures to address new challenges and protect the people of South Australia today and in the future.

References