NSW crime statistics released today show the number of non domestic-violence related assaults in central Sydney has dropped since pub lockout laws were introduced in February 2014.
But the state's top crime statistician says the fall could be due to a drop in the number of people coming to the city.
Since the laws came into effect, following the violent death of Daniel Christie on New Year's Eve in 2013, the trend of violent assaults is down 32 per cent in Kings Cross and down 40 per cent in the Sydney CBD.
In February 2014 the O’Farrell government introduced 1.30am lockout and 3am last drinks laws in the Sydney Entertainment and Kings Cross Precincts and a ban on takeaway alcohol sales after 10pm across NSW.
The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) released its review of the effects of the lockout laws today saying the areas near Kings Cross and the Sydney CBD, such as Newtown and Bondi, did not receive a significant increase in violent assaults.
BOCSAR director, Dr Don Weatherburn, said although the new liquor laws appeared to have reduced the incidence of assault, some important questions remained unanswered.
"It's possible, of course, that the new laws curbed alcohol consumption in Sydney and Kings Cross," Dr Weatherburn told reporters at NSW Parliament.
"But it's also possible that the new laws simply discourage people from going to these places."
The Sydney and Kings Cross Entertainment precincts were now more safer than before the laws were introduced, Dr Weatherburn said.
"Kings Cross and the CBD are now much safer than they were," Dr Weatherburn said.
"It's certainly one of the most dramatic effects I've seen in my time on policy interventions to reduce crime."
However, Dr Weatherburn said numbers of assaults had been dropping before the laws were created.
NSW Police and St Vincent’s Hospital have previously said the effect of lockout laws had reduced the numbers of violent assaults and injuries in the Kings Cross area.
St Vincent's Hospital Director of Trauma Services Anthony Grabssaid his doctors had seen "less heartache, less injuries" since the laws came in.
The report says the rate of non-domestic violence related assault was down 5.7 per cent across NSW between 2010 and 2014, and stable between January 2013 and December 2014.
Dr Weatherburn said only one of the top 17 major offences had increased over the last two years.
“However the continued growth in arrests for amphetamine-related offences is a matter of concern," he said.
"The rise in arrests for amphetamine use and dealing is consistent with drug survey data in suggesting a rise in methamphetamine consumption."
-With AAP
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