Page 2378 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 16 September 1992
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The phenomenon of homeless youth has been recognised and a figure of 30,000 put on the population of these young people in Sydney. Canberra also cannot escape its responsibility to take on board the care of its young people. When society tells you that it cannot provide the basics of shelter, food and warmth, particularly in such an uninviting climate as Canberra's during the winter months, can we really expect our homeless young people to have respect for other people's property? Is it possible to have concern for the well-being of others when there is apparently no-one looking after your own well-being?
I feel that the emphasis that has emerged in Canberra's policing and community welfare sectors in the past few years is the right way to go. Community policing is the option that will receive and has received the support of the local community, us as legislators and the police themselves. Our energies need to go into making people more aware of the problems our community faces and enlisting their support for their local police force.
There are trends apparent in the incidence of major crime across Australia which the Attorney-General has outlined. But is crime in fact increasing in the ACT or do the statistics reveal a changing trend in social behaviour coupled with a higher detection rate? Fifteen years ago society tolerated people being drunk while driving; child abuse was spoken of as an unfortunate phenomenon that happened among the working classes; domestic violence was viewed as a part of married life; rape within marriage was considered impossible; rape outside of marriage was more often than not considered the woman's fault. Even if people had the courage to report these crimes to police, convictions were rare, as the attitude of society, reflected by the police and the magistrates, did not really view them as crimes.
In recent years we have seen a growth in awareness amongst a wide range of people as educational campaigns open up previously taboo subjects - rape, incest, assault in the home, to name a few. This has resulted in more people reporting these crimes and, more importantly, in the police and the law courts responding in a way that recognises that a crime has been committed and acting on it.
To conclude, Madam Speaker, I believe in adopting a preventive and holistic approach, trying to solve some of the hardships and problems that lead to crime by action and education and thereby making our community safer. However, I do not believe that we will ever abolish the need for our police and court systems. That view would be considered to be foolish. But, by emphasising the community as the basis for crime prevention, we are better able to focus our energies on the detection of serious crime and can work to reduce the occurrence of major offences.
MRS GRASSBY (4.03): Mr Humphries has regaled us with horror stories about rising rates of crime in the ACT. We all know that there are lies, damn lies and statistics. I am sure that his figures will do marvellous things for small business in this town. After today, no aged persons in Canberra will feel safe in their homes until they have turned them into veritable fortresses. Locksmiths, I am sure, and hardware stores will be really rubbing their hands together with joy about all the sales that Mr Humphries will have them making, with all his scare tactics. Madam Speaker, this is not a laughing matter. However, I cannot help thinking of that television show Get Smart and Maxwell Smart's door with its many locks. Of course, under a Liberal government we could not afford to buy locks, with the extra 15 per cent GST.
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