The Crime Reports in local papers never report any serious crimes, my local reports things like lawn mower stolen, car scratched, that sort of petty crime, when a couple of students two doors down from me got burgled at gun point, crap beaten out of them, it didn't get a mention in the local paper



jib

For those who want to look at area crime statistics, here a few examples with a link at the bottom to get more.

Offences per 1,000 in each of these Postcode areas

4165 – Victoria Point
80 - Burglary, Fraud & Other Offences
25 - Other Offences
22 - Property Damage & Environment Offences
4 - Offences Against the Person
1 - Robbery & Extortion

4000 – Spring Hill
78 - Burglary, Fraud & Other Offences
25 - Other Offences
21 - Property Damage & Environment Offences
5 - Offences Against the Person
2 - Robbery & Extortion

2765 – Sydney West
54 - Burglary, Fraud & Other Offences
31 - Other Offences
15 - Property Damage & Environment Offences
10 - Offences Against the Person
1 - Robbery & Extortion

2166 - Cabramatta
67 - Burglary, Fraud & Other Offences
50 - Other Offences
11 - Property Damage & Environment Offences
9 - Offences Against the Person
4 -Robbery & Extortion

All these statistics found at this link

I used to live in Postcode 2765, and saw lots of problems, now I live in Postcode 4165, and find it very peacefull, yet the statistics say I am wrong, on most counts !!

Do I believe the statistics, or i do I believe my own eyes !!

I am NOT moving back to Sydney West, just because some web site says it's safer !!!!!!
I gave up carrying a defensive weapon when I left Sydney !!

The statistics say whatever you want them to say:
eg:
Property Damage & Environment Offences = More people are prosecuted for littering up here ?

Burglary, Fraud & Other Offences = More people get caught shoplifting up here ?

My Point ? Statisticians should be locked up !! (unless they own up to their lies, like I do )

I feel that all Mike is trying to do is 'enlighten' some posters/readers to the fact that Australia does have crime and not just minor incidents.

Believe it or not there 'are' some people out there that think OZ is almost 'crime free', that you can leave doors and windows open. That there are no murders, no guns, no drugs etc etc.

Making this point is not unlike talking about how hot it gets here, or how much the cost of living is or how bad the flies really are. It's all facts about Australia that I'am sure some people find interesting. I think the ones that 'shout' about it being negative are sometimes the ones that want to find utopia?

I have a local free newspaper delivered weekly (Echo), the following appears every week:

Echo Weekly Crime Count

Local Occurences of burglaries during the week ending Sunday April 18th

Locality Number of Breaks
Beechboro 2
Bellevue 2
Bullsbrook 2
Darlington 1
Forrestfield 1
Glen Forrest 1
Gooseberry Hill 1
High Wycombe 1
Jane Brook 2
Kalamunda 3
Lockridge 2
Middle Swan 1
Midland 6
Midvale 2
South Guildford 1
Swan View 3
Walliston 1
Woodbridge 1

This is just for local areas within the Swan Council. I will admit I was surprised when I first saw it. I know Britains suburbs aren't printed but it still gives people some idea of how much crime is actually going on.

Yes I have had a lot of positive experiences of OZ.Otherwise I would not be going there.
But I am also realistic and This thread was about there being 'NO bad areas' and that is a fantasy.
the fact that some of my posts reflect the downsides show that I have thought about these things.
It also leads to a much more interesting and creative discussions about topics than simply posting about whay a nice day it is or how the sun shines all the time.
It also adds a little balance to the wannabe migrants who constantly focus on the downside of the UK to justify their own moves.
Works both ways.
The reason I am up so early is because I am off fishing.
I need to take suntan lotion because,believe it or not, the sun shines in England as well

G

Mikes figures also show how misconceived a lot of our notions are about the USA.

Many people feel that the USA is a dangerous place, yet these figures show that it is much safer than both the UK and Australia.

I personaly believe that "certain" areas of Australia are much more dangerous than any in the UK, but I also believed the same about the USA. But looking at these figures, I know that I am only able to talk about specific areas that I live in, or have lived in for some time.

This forum does enable people to talk to other people from different areas and get more reliable info.

My personal views relate only to SE Kent, Sydney West, and currently East Bayside, and my findings are:
Esat Bayside appears safest, followed by SE Kent with West Sydney coming last.

A few points.

1. My comment on Hull should have been in quotation marks! It was voted a #1 "crap town" in a book about "crap UK towns" - it was an amusing, slightly tongue in cheek look at the darker side of these towns. Not meant to be aggressive.

2. Of course Oz has good and bad points. But, I do get very irked when I see people run UK down in favour of Oz. I've spent a long time in both and want to provide some balance.

3. The only reason I quote stats, is because I want to provide some quasi-objectivity. I agree that stats can be misleading and that personal experiences are important, but stats provide an reasonably objective view

4. To date, people like Grayling and BondiPom tend to provide the most balanced views. They don't gush with enthusiasm, for either Oz or UK. Of course, my feelings are stronger!

One of the best posts I've read on the down sides of Oz is in this thread (see est.'s reasons for leaving)


5. BTW, steandleigh, if I had left Oz with very little $, some others may have said "He only left, because he failed to make a go of it". I worked damn hard when I was in Oz, but I would have done better financially if I had stayed in UK. But, as many say, money isn't everything.

6. And yes, it is true that I should be spending more time away from this site. But, as I do a lot of work sitting at a computer, it's just so easy to have a quick look and...

In the meantime, for those of you who don't like reading any contrary views, any time you see MikeStanton on a post, just ignore it

PS Forgot to add: I had never heard of the phrase "home invasion" before I arrived in Sydney.

And yes Meg, our house was broken into when we lived in Oz. The guy stole all the precious stuff and trashed the place. He was caught, but had already sold the stuff to fund his drug habit. And then the police suggested I should exaggerate the amount that he stole

They also provide a good starting point for further discussions

Fair enough comments.

I'm all in favour of listening to what 'those who've gone before' have got to say.

It just struck me that, although you seemed to have done very nicely out of Australia ( and yes, I'm sure it was through hard work - no-one gets mega bucks by sitting on their backsides ), you have turned away from it all and are very vocal towrds the negativities of life there.

Hi Mike,

Is Australia really that bad? If your thread is to put off people going to OZ then you are starting to suceed!

I will definately be careful about making my decision to immigrate to OZ!

Excellent points 2nfrom.

The problem I have with Mike is that for all his talk of using stats to bring some objectivity to the forum, all the stats he posts are negative regarding Oz. They're usually about crime, youth suicide or aboriginal deprivation. He could just as easily find stats which show that Australians live longer than Brits, have a better quality of healthcare or have much lower levels of poverty. But as you say, that would not suit his agenda of convincing himself (and the rest of the world) that he's made the right decision.

I personally love reading Mike's posts because he adds a bit of spice. Looking back at some old P.B. threads I see that he was constantly slagged while he was posting but people miss him now he has gone.

Personally, I hope to experience less crime in Australia than the UK because my £ from selling our place in a high-crime part of London will allow us to afford a similar place in a nicer lower-crime part of Sydney.

Surely this is what many people mean when they say they want to escape UK crime? Everyone knows crime is everywhere, it just that you hope to move to a better are where it is less.

Any post from someone who has seen "The Other Side"" has to be good....so long as the threads are not full of lies, I think mike is trying to push reality into the scene (there are some who need reminding )
We ourselves have a very good life here, have nothing (much) bad to say about the Uk, have been to Oz a few times, have family and friends here and there, certainly dont think Oz is eutopia.........were going for a few years working holiday.....if we love it we stay........if we dont we fly back and carry on :lecture:

Getting a visa is a big deal and alot of effort.....flying off and then maybe flying back is no great shakes..........its only Oz not satern ...one day away thats all !!!:lecture:

As someone in the process of making possibly the biggest decision of my life - I am interested in any information - even in the form of statistics - that can assist in this decision. I think it is good to hear the 'bad' as well as the 'good' about Oz as surely no place is perfect?!

The one thing I will say about statistics as an example of their verifiability is:

"Hull? Not surprised - it was voted as #1 crap town in UK"

Yes it was in one survey. Two weeks later it came in the top 5 cities in another survey!
As other people have stated it is more important to get behind the figures and see what can be learned from them.

On the subject of statistics:

We tend to believe the statistics we want to - for example, we know Oz has deadly spiders but the statistics show fatalities are rare, so we breathe a sigh of relief and don't question the stats.

Many statistics are good indicators and from reliable sources, but we'll never know which ones until we go and try things out for ourselves!