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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 10 Hansard (25 September) . . Page.. 3336 ..
Report on Rules of Court
MR HUMPHRIES (Attorney-General): Mr Speaker, for the information of members, I present Report No. 13 of the Community Law Reform Committee, entitled Rules of Court: Preliminary Consideration. I ask for leave to have a short statement incorporated into Hansard.
Leave granted.
Statement incorporated at Appendix 18.
Paper
MR HUMPHRIES (Attorney-General) (4.41): Mr Speaker, for the information of members, I present the justice and crime statistics. I move:
That the Assembly takes note of the paper.
Members will recall that it was an election promise of the ACT Government to provide to the ACT community statistics on trends in crime. The statistics which have been tabled today represent the last four quarters in respect of justice and crime statistics. These statistics deal with police offences, progression of those offences through the courts and sentencing options imposed.
For the first time, these figures have been compiled to track trends in the justice system. In further quarters, we intend to release them quarterly and to include analysis of trends following the first year of their completion. Much of the first year has been spent compiling statistics from a considerable number of sources, checking them against cross-references in other areas and ensuring that the people being dealt with through the justice system can be tracked. This is an exciting new initiative, work for which has been under way for a year now. The more regular release of that information, not just as raw data but as analysed statistics identifying trends, means that the Canberra community can better understand the trends in crime.
The figures in relation to crime indicate that there has been a rise in crime in the 1996-97 financial year over 1995-96 from 38,637 offences to 42,011 offences. That constitutes a rise of 8.7 per cent. I note that that is the lowest rate of increase experienced in crime in the ACT in five years. I also note with some pleasure that the clear-up rate has risen to its highest ever rate in the ACT, to 32.3 per cent. It means that one in every three offences is being resolved - a rate which, although still too low, is certainly very high by Australian standards. It is a matter, I think, for which we can commend the Australian Federal Police.
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