Page 2376 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 16 September 1992
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
favoured within the ACT. I suspect, though, that it will be as unsuccessful today as it has been over the last 12 months or so whenever the Liberal Party has tried to raise this issue. The general perception in the ACT is that it is really a bit of a political try-on and nobody takes it terribly seriously.
When I tabled the DPP's annual report some weeks ago, the general consensus of media comment was, "Well, yes, it does show increases in charges". Most commentators correctly drew the distinction between crime rates, which will come out in due course when we get AFP figures tidied up, and rates of charges by prosecutors. I also note that a number of commentators drew attention to the point made in the report of the DPP following the statement that Mr Humphries read about recent trends showing cause for concern. The next sentence mentioned a request from an agency for more funding. A number of commentators suggested that that perhaps was not unrelated.
Mr Humphries asked what we are doing about other issues. He said, "What about the psych cells at Belconnen?". In fact, they are in use. They are open and in use, and I am advised that two people are using them as we speak. Those cells have been in operation since 2 September. That initiative, which was announced in last year's budget and which work has progressed on, is now in place. Perhaps I should have prepared a media release to advise Mr Humphries of that, but we thought it was just a routine operational matter of providing appropriate facilities for people in the Remand Centre and we did not beat the drum over it. Mr Humphries's rhetorical flourish was, "What have you done about the psych cells? What is happening with the psych cells?". The short answer is that they are well and truly in operation. There is a standing offer for people to go and have a look at them.
The rate of crime in the ACT is a concern. It is in any State or Territory in Australia. We can be reassured that we remain a safer community than any other State or Territory, with the possible exception of Tasmania in a number of areas of crime. I am particularly reassured that the recent police polling shows that fear of crime in this community is reducing. That indicates that our community policing strategy is working. Our community policing strategy will continue. It will be reinforced with our direction of police caravans to shopping centres and a further linking of local police with local communities by way of identifying individual officers for individual suburbs. We are working on the victims of crime issues through the Community Law Reform Committee. We are working with the police for better follow-up for people who have been victims of crime - and that is a very important issue which, in the past, has failed to be addressed by police forces in Australia. The AFP is moving in that direction. I am getting some positive feedback on that initiative.
Madam Speaker, crime always is a concern. We are addressing it through community policing strategies. We are addressing it through taking the people into our confidence and telling them what is going on with crime in their community and with their police force. It is not helped by the sort of junkie, cheap scaremongering strategies that the Federal Liberal Party adopted with this appalling pamphlet circulated nationally earlier this year. It appears that our local Liberals are falling into the same pattern.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .