Chilling crime statistics show that the Northern Territory leads the country in offender rates for nearly every type of crime.

The official figures, released in February, show that the murder rate in the NT is double that of every other state and territory at 8.7 per 100,000 people, with the next highest being Western Australia at 3.8.

The assault rate in the Northern Territory dwarfs the other states at 1,365 per 100,000 people - more than three times as high as anywhere else.

Sexual assault rates are higher than anywhere else in the country at 57.8 compared to South Australia, the next highest, at 42.3 offences per 100,000 people

The figures show that the homicide and related offences rate is over double every other state and territory at 8.7 per 100,000 people, with the next highest being Western Australia at 3.8

Sexual assault rates are also well higher than anywhere else in the country at 57.8 compared to South Australia, the next highest, at 42.3 offences per 100,000 people.

The release of the figures provides a sobering picture of the state of crime in the Northern Territory.

There have been a number of high profile allegations of child sexual assaults in the last three months in the territory with an incident in Tennant Creek involving a two-year-old girl in February, an incident involving a four-year-old in Ali Curung in March, and another incident in March involving a five-year-old.

A 28-year-old woman was also assaulted this week on a remote stretch of the Stuart Highway near Alice Springs where she was strangled until she passed out and then stabbed in the groin with a pair of scissors.

The Northern Territory also has the highest offender rates for car theft, prohibited weapons, property damage, public order offences, unlawful entry offences, robbery and extortion, dangerous acts, and breaching non-violence orders.

The only categories where other states were ahead of the NT were drug offences, fraud offences, general theft, and, by a small margin, abduction.

The total offender rate across the board for all categories sees the Northern Territory at 5,708 per 100,000 people, well ahead of all the other states and territories with South Australia being the second highest at 3,265 per 100,000.

The assault rate in the Northern Territory dwarfs the other states at 1365 per 100,000 people which is over three times as high as any other state or territory

A 28-year-old woman was also assaulted this week on a remote stretch of the Stuart Highway near Alice Springs



