FED: Most murders committed with knives, as gun use dives

AAP General News (Australia)
12-03-2008
FED: Most murders committed with knives, as gun use dives

New crime statistics reveal Australians are now far more likely to be murdered with
a knife than a gun .. and it'll probably happen in their own homes .. at night.

In 2006-07 .. some 44 per cent of homicide victims were killed with a knife or other
sharp instrument .. the highest proportion of knife deaths since the national homicide
monitoring program began 18 years ago.

Only 11 per cent of murder victims were killed with a firearm .. the lowest proportion
on record and down four per cent on 2005-06.

Shooting deaths peaked in 1993 .. when 29 per cent of victims were killed by a gun.

The statistics also show homicide rates have fallen by a third in the last six years.

AAP RTV jcd/kms/tm

KEYWORD: HOMICIDE (CANBERRA)

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