The report first provides an overview of major trends in recorded criminal incidents (recorded victims for murder) over the 2-year period from January 1995 to December 1996. Figures showing trends in selected offenses are presented, as well as an analysis that indicates which trends are statistically significant. The second section presents, for all categories of offense, the monthly number of recorded criminal incidents (recorded victims for murder and manslaughter). There are two tables in this section, one for 1995 and one for 1996. Each table provides a total for the year and the annual rate per 100,000 population. The data used for the trend analysis in the first section of the report are included in these two tables. The third section provides the numbers and percentages of cleared criminal incidents, for selected types of offense, for 1995 and 1996. The offense types included in these tables are those where the crime is likely to have been reported to police, rather than discovered or detected by police. Offense types where the numbers of recorded criminal incidents are influenced by police law enforcement activity are excluded. For such offense types, the clear-up percentages are high because clearing the offense generally occurs simultaneously with its detection. The table for 1995 shows the number of recorded criminal incidents and, of these, the number which had been cleared 30 days, 90 days, and 180 days after the incident was reported to police. The table also includes clear-up percentages, which show the proportions of recorded incidents that had been cleared within 30, 90, and 180 days of reporting. The fourth section of the report contains 30 tables, one for each major offense category; each table provides the numbers and rates of recorded criminal incidents for the period January to December 1995 and January to December 1996, for each of the New South Wales Statistical Divisions and for each Statistical Subdivision in Sydney. Extensive tables and figures