Geoff Helisma | The March 2018 quarterly update for recorded crime rates in New South Wales shows that there were no significant trends, either increasing or decreasing, in the Clarence Valley Local Government Area (LGA), apart from a 3.4 per cent drop in property offences over the last 60 months. Violent offences have remained stable over both measurement periods, 24 months and 60 months, while the trend for property offences was steady over the 24 month period. A ‘non significant’ or ‘stable’ trend is registered if an increasing or decreasing trends is measured at less than or greater than .05 per cent. Violent offences in the LGA have a ratio of 1.2 compared to the NSW average and property offences have a ratio of 1.1 – a ratio of one indicates parity with the NSW rate. On a year to year basis, domestic violence related assaults have risen from 215 in the year preceding March 2017, to 227 from March 2017 to March 2018. Non domestic violence assault dropped from 278 to 262 recorded incidents; sexual assault dropped from 51 to 37; indecent assault (act of indecency and other sexual offences) rose from 43 to 60; Robbery without a weapon dropped from three to one incident; robbery with a firearm rose from zero to one, while robbery with a weapon (not a firearm) dropped from 10 to one. Break and enter a dwelling dropped from 288 to 193; non-dwelling break and enter rose from 108 to 132. Motor vehicle thefts remained static at 99; and stealing from a motor vehicle dropped from 280 to 225. Stealing from a retail store dropped from 131 to 114; stealing from a dwelling dropped from 265 to 229; stealing from a person rose from 16 to 22. Fraud increased from 256 recorded incidents to 302, and malicious damage to property offences dropped from 592 to 462.