Crime in Western Australia

A number of massacres of Aboriginal Australians, some as part of the frontier wars, occurred from the 1830s until well into the 20th century.

The colony had its share of bushrangers in the 19th century, the most well-known of whom was "Moondyne Joe".

Capital punishment in Western Australia was formally removed from the statutes of the state with the passage of the Acts Amendment (Abolition of Capital Punishment) Act 1984.

[1] Western Australia was the second last state in which capital punishment was legal.

[6] Australian Bureau of Statistics figures for 2009/10 showed that police action was taken against 2072.1 people per 100,000 head of population in WA.

[10] The chance of being a victim of break-in was 3.7%, a significant drop from the previous two years.

The highest-rating Northern Territory scored 6.8% and the lowest, Victoria, 2.2%.