Page 885 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 30 March 1993
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Mr Humphries: Why can you not publish that?
MR CONNOLLY: One does not need to be a genius to work out that a sensible police force would respond to a higher rate of a particular offence in Belconnen by deploying additional police resources to the area of the particular problem. By publishing on a month by month basis where our problems are, we are telegraphing to those who may have evil intent where our resources are being redeployed. That is why, after discussion with my police commissioner, I will not be publishing monthly data that I get from the police commissioner. That is why, Mr Humphries, your Liberal Party colleague in New South Wales does not release monthly police data and your Liberal Party colleague in Victoria does not produce monthly police data. Although I have not checked every State, I am sure that your Liberal Party colleagues in Tasmania and Western Australia do not release and will not release monthly data. The monthly data the police obtain is used as a management tool to tell police where to deploy resources.
Mr Humphries: It is also embarrassing to the Government, isn't it?
MR CONNOLLY: Mr Humphries, if it is, it will be embarrassing when it is published at the time of the annual report.
Mr Humphries: That is only once a year rather than 12 times a year.
MR CONNOLLY: Madam Speaker, we see that Mr Humphries's real agenda here is to beat the drum on law and order and whip up some political furore.
Mr Wood: Yes, Bill Stefaniak has gone. We need someone else to do that.
MR CONNOLLY: We have his replacement. I will adopt the practice that police Ministers are adopting around Australia, both Labor and Liberal, and that is to accept responsibility and accountability here for the official figures. I will not be producing for Mr Humphries's benefit, or for anyone's benefit, the monthly police briefings. I will, however, give to Mr Humphries what I gave to the media, which was a photocopy of the cover sheet of the executive brief, which stated that, with the exception of motor vehicle theft, with a 12 per cent decrease, offences in selected categories have shown increases. That is the case, and when we publish the annual report the level at which there have been increases or decreases will be made public. I am quite happy to give Mr Humphries that.
Mr De Domenico: Will you give it to me, seeing that I asked the question?
MR CONNOLLY: I am sorry; perhaps I had worked out the origin of the question, Mr De Domenico. The reason I provided that to the media on the weekend was that it documented that I had received the information from the assistant commissioner, that it was an official AFP document, and I felt it necessary to produce this in order to show the veracity of my statement. My statement that there had been a 12 per cent decrease was contained in an official police document, which I am happy to provide a part of.
I should also let you know, so that you do not salivate when you get it, that it also says that, with the exception of traffic infringement notices, with an 18 per cent decrease, and traffic arrests, with a 26 per cent decrease, demand and activities have shown increases ranging from about 5 per cent to 85 per cent.
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