Report shows knives are most common murder weapon followed by guns, with alcohol and beatings a big factor

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Fewer people are being murdered in Australia, with the nation’s homicide rate hitting an all-time record low.

The latest report of the national homicide monitoring program reveals there were 238 homicide incidents in Australia in 2013-14 compared with 307 deaths in 1989-90.

That finding brings the national rate down to one victim per 100,000 people – the lowest since the program started in 1989.

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By comparison, the United States had a murder rate of 4.88 people per 100,000 in 2015, according to the United Nations office on drugs and crime. The office said in 2014 the UK’s rate was 0.92 and New Zealand’s was 0.91.

The report, by the Australian Institute of Criminology, shows knives were the most common murder weapons, responsible for 86 deaths while beatings accounting for 37 deaths.

Guns killed 32 people, marking a 63% decline since 1989-90.

The Northern Territory has the highest homicide incident rate in Australia, with 6.5 incidents per 100,000 persons while the Australian Capital Territory recorded the lowest rate at 0.3 incidents per 100,000 persons in 2013-14.

Alcohol continues to feature heavily in a large number of homicides.

The study found 50% of indigenous offenders were drinking alcohol at the time of the homicide incident compared to 19% of non-indigenous offenders. Similarly, 60% of indigenous victims were known to have consumed alcohol at the time.

“Homicide is an abhorrent crime that is completely unacceptable in our society,” justice minister Michael Keenan said, adding the homicide rate had trended down with a 22% reduction in the past 25 years.

He added that women continued to be over-represented as victims of intimate partner homicide with 99 victims or 79% between 2012 and 2014.

A new crime statistics website was also launched on Sunday and will upload datasets including victims of crime, offenders, corrections, courts and statistics from the AIC’s monitoring program as it becomes available.