Australian Crime Rate

City · New South Wales · 2025-26

Newcastle crime rate and crime map

Newcastle recorded 1,408 violent offences per 100,000 residents in 2025-26, 22% above the New South Wales rate and close to the national rate. Up 14% on five years earlier.

The figures cover the City of Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, about 403,475 residents.

Lake Macquarie: 1,201 violent offences per 100,000Newcastle: 1,667 violent offences per 100,000
Council areas shaded by violent crime rate against the national rate, 2025-26. Select a council for its full figures and Crime Score.

Newcastle against NSW and Australia

Violent 1,408 per 100k

Property 4,057 per 100k

Break-ins 484 per 100k

Recorded offences per 100,000 residents, 2025-26. Australia: every council area with published figures.

Violent crime over ten years

07601,5202016-172025-26
NewcastleNew South Wales
Newcastle violent crime rate from 2016-17 to 2025-26: 1,154 to 1,408 per 100,000. Violent offences per 100,000 residents.

Street-level crime map of Newcastle

BOCSAR's hotspot map shows where break-ins, car theft, theft, robbery, assault and malicious damage concentrated across Newcastle in the 12 months to June 2026: low, medium and high-density areas for each offence. Hotspots show where incidents cluster, not how many there were or the risk at any address.

Open the Newcastle hotspot map, pick an offence, and zoom in to the streets; suburb outlines show each suburb's own recorded rate (source: BOCSAR, CC BY 4.0).

Newcastle's council areas

Per 100,000 residents, 2025-26, highest violent crime rate first. Score: Crime Score, 0 lowest to 100 highest recorded crime.
CouncilViolentPropertyBreak-insScore
Newcastle1,6675,58472068
Lake Macquarie1,2012,84029543

Questions about crime in Newcastle

What is the crime rate in Newcastle?

Newcastle recorded 1,408 violent offences per 100,000 residents in 2025-26, 22% above the New South Wales rate and close to the national rate. Property crime was 4,057 per 100,000. The figures cover the City of Newcastle and Lake Macquarie.

Which part of Newcastle has the highest crime rate?

Of Newcastle's 2 council areas, Newcastle had the highest recorded violent crime rate in 2025-26 (1,667 per 100,000) and Lake Macquarie the lowest (1,201). Rates in central council areas are raised by the number of visitors and workers who are not residents.

Is crime going up in Newcastle?

Newcastle's recorded violent crime rate went from 1,230 per 100,000 in 2020-21 to 1,408 in 2025-26 (+14%). Changes in reporting and police recording affect these trends as well as offending.

Where do these figures come from?

Offence counts from New South Wales's official police or crime statistics agency, by council area, standardised to national offence categories, with ABS population. Figures describe recorded offences, not personal risk.

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