Aussies Safer In Strip Club Than Church, Figures Show

(NewsCore) - They may be holy places of worship and reflection but new figures show that people in the Australian state of New South Wales may not be as safe in a church as they are at a strip club or in a brothel, The (Sydney) Sunday Telegraph reported.

The latest data, compiled by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, showed 1,600 people were charged with committing a range of 27 offenses in the state's "places of worship" in 2008.

Surprisingly, the figures showed only 282 people were charged over the same offenses in premises classified as adult entertainment.

Bureau director Don Wedderburn said the data showed people were just as likely to be assaulted or robbed in the sanctity of a church as they were on the streets.

"Most people would think of churches and synagogues as sanctuaries in society," he said.

"But maybe that's naive, because the statistics show they are likely to rob, assault or steal from people there like anywhere else. The figures are genuinely surprising."

A breakdown of the figures showed that 85 people were assaulted in places of worship, compared to 66 at an adult entertainment premises.

According to the report, places of worship include churches, synagogues, monasteries, mosques, convents, cathedrals and chapels.

Premises listed under adult entertainment included strip clubs, sex shops, brothels, massage parlors, homosexual clubs, gaming houses as well as gambling clubs.