Danger in the Dark
In the year between October 2023 and September 2024, New South Wales recorded a staggering 93,500 crimes against individuals. Alarmingly, half (51.3%) of these incidents occurred under the cover of darkness, between 6 PM and 6 AM. These chilling statistics underscore the importance of nighttime personal safety.
In this research, we analysed data from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research to uncover the safest and most dangerous Local Government Areas (LGAs) to be out at night.
Discover how your local area ranks in the interactive maps below.
What are the most dangerous areas in NSW at night?
Walgett, located in the remote Northwest of the state, is NSW’s most dangerous area at night, with more than half (51.7%) of all criminal offences in the area happening at night. Walgett holds the highest night-time incident rate of 3,027.6 per 100,000 residents. During the analysed period, the LGA had a total of 167 night-time offences with 52.7% of these incidents related to alcohol.
Ranking in second place is Moree Plains, located on the New South Wales and Queensland border. Moree Plains has a night-time incident rate of 2,230.2 per 100,000 residents and over half (52.8%) of crimes happen during the night. Interestingly, 34.5% of night-time crimes in Moree Plains are alcohol-related, 18.2% less than the most dangerous area at night, Walgett.
When looking at Greater Sydney, the Sydney LGA ranks as the most dangerous at night with an incident rate of 1,478.2 per 100,000. It’s worth noting that incidents are recorded based on the location of its occurrence, and therefore due to high visitor numbers in relation to its population rates should be treated with some caution.
The LGA ranks sixth overall in NSW with 62% of criminal offences occurring at night and 47% of these were related to alcohol. Ranking second in Greater Sydney is Campbelltown (726.9 per 100,000) followed by Penrith (655.9 per 100,000).
What are the safest areas in NSW at night?
Ku-Ring-Gai is named the safest LGA in NSW, with 154.6 night-time incidents per 100,000 residents. Between October 2023 and September 2024, there were 192 night-time offences in Ku-Ring-Gai, with just 21.4% of these being alcohol-related. Following in second place is Mosman, with a rate of 160.0 night-time incidents per 100,000. Of these offences, 26.7% (12) were related to alcohol.
Interestingly, three of the five safest LGAs at night in the state were located in Sydney's North Shore, the third of which, Hornsby, ranked fifth overall (228.0 per 100,000).
Outside of Greater Sydney, the safest area during the night is Kiama, which has an incident rate of only 243.9 per 100,000. Kiama also ranks sixth lowest in all of NSW. 37.5% of night-time incidents in Kiama were related to alcohol.
What types of crimes occur most frequently at night?
The main category of criminal offence occurring between the hours of 6 pm and 6 am is domestic violence-related assault (39.3%), followed closely by non-domestic violence-related assault (31.4%). Interestingly, almost half (49.7%) of domestic violence incidents occur at night, with 37.8% of them being related to alcohol.
In NSW, the leading LGAs for night-time domestic violence assault are Walgett, Moree Plains and Coonamble. In Greater Sydney, Sydney, Campbelltown and Blacktown fared worst. When it comes to non-domestic violence assault, Coonamble recorded the highest rate of incidents, followed by Walgett and Sydney.
Night sexual offences record the highest incident rate in Lachlan, Warrumbungle Shire and Narromine. Narromine is also the LGA with the highest incidence rate of abduction and kidnapping, followed by Snowy Monaro and Leeton. Robbery is most common at night in Moree Plains, Sydney and Griffith LGAs. Although murder makes up only 0.1% of night-time crime in NSW, the LGAs with the highest rates are Narromine, Forbes and Richmond Valley.