The overall rate of reported sexual offenders in Canberra has risen from 29 to almost 33 per 100,000 people in one year, a national study has revealed.
The Australian Institute of Criminology's (AIC) latest report on sexual offending shows more than 10,000 people faced police action for sexual crimes in 2023-24, including 135 offenders in Canberra.
In the same period, there were more than 9700 victims reported in Australia, including 164 people in the ACT.
The AIC examined data provided by state and territory police agencies and said there had been a slight increase in the national sexual offender rate from about 42 per 100,000 in 2022-23 to 43 per 100,000 in 2023-24.
Tom Sullivan, a principal research analyst at the institute and author of the report, said the latest offending patterns might indicate real differences in recorded offending or other governmental changes.
"[Patterns] might also reflect differences in legislation, in recording practices, or in crime prevention policies across the jurisdictions," Mr Sullivan said.
Queensland reported the highest sexual offender rate (60.8) while Tasmania reported the lowest (27.1), followed by Victoria ( 29.1) and the ACT (32.7).
The report showed 93 per cent of sexual offenders were male, adding that: "Males were more likely than females to have two or more victims, to have multiple sexual offence incidents, and to have been charged, arrested or summonsed."
"Seven per cent of people who were proceeded against were females, and the female offenders were considerably younger than male offenders," Mr Sullivan said.
The report further highlighted 61 per cent of male offenders, and 56 per cent of female offenders, had already faced police action for some type of crime in the nine years before their first or only police action for a sexual offence in 2023-24.
"It shows that many of these people proceeded against have this history of generalised criminality," Mr Sullivan said.
Of the 135 sexual offenders recorded in Canberra, more than half (57 per cent) were between 18 and 44 years old, 37 per cent were 45 years old or more, and less than one per cent were between 12 and 17 years old.
Mr Sullivan said most adult offenders were proceeded against for penetrative or non-penetrative sexual, meaning offences (contact or non-contact) committed in the presence of the victim.
Additionally, youth offenders in Australia (42 per cent) most commonly faced police action for offences related to child sexual abuse material, which the report said might be explained in part by "sexting" (sharing of electronic images and videos) among minors categorised as crime in some jurisdictions.
The report said majority of youth offenders were preceeded against with actions such as a formal caution, conference, or penalty notice.
Deputy director at the Australian Institute of Criminology, Rick Brown, said the Australian Sexual Offence Statistical Collection began as a measure of the First Commonwealth Action Plan to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse 2021-24.
"This project has been extended and aims to inform policy makers and shape responses to sexual offending in Australia," Mr Brown said.
