Page 884 - Week 03 - Thursday, 30 March 2006
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government agencies to identify emerging issues and to develop whole-of-government approaches. These approaches are diverse and can involve community support in early intervention programs, urban environmental design considerations for public spaces, support for victims of crime and sharing of information on problem areas or hotspots.
The ACT’s Crime Partnership Group is another good example of the broad cooperation between law enforcement, other government agencies and businesses. The group includes representatives from ACT Policing, a broad cross-section of ACT agencies, representatives from the insurance industry, public transport providers and even the ACT and Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
There are, of course, many things that business operators and other private citizens can do to assist in reducing the level of crime and assisting police in apprehending those who commit offences. Firstly, it is vital that business owners in particular avail themselves of crime prevention advice. Good advice on reducing the risk of becoming a victim of crime is available from the police, government agencies and business organisations. Businesses need to take appropriate measures to secure their premises, goods and cash holdings and certainly report suspicious activity and crime to police. It is important to remember that police can only respond to issues that are reported to them. Business operators, shoppers and others concerned about potentially criminal activities or antisocial behaviour at local shops should report these matters to the police at all times.
There are a number of other avenues for reporting matters to the police. Of course, urgent and life-threatening matters should always be reported by calling 000. Police attendance at non-urgent matters can be arranged by calling 131 444. Alternatively, if people want to maintain anonymity, there is also the opportunity to report crimes to Crime Stoppers. Where appropriate and more convenient, reports can also be made to the police at any of the ACT’s five police stations or at the City Beat shopfront.
All of these things highlight the importance of a partnership between the community, business owners and the police when it comes to addressing and tackling crime and antisocial behaviour. This is not to say that crime does not happen in the ACT. Clearly it does. But the ACT remains one of the safest cities in the country and we have seen massive reductions in personal and property crime since this government came to office in the 2000-01 financial year.
People who have become victims of crime also have important opportunities and rights available to them. These include services through victim liaison services that can help victims in accessing support at a difficult time, helping them to rebuild their confidence and prevent revictimisation by rethinking personal or business security.
When provided with timely and accurate information about crime and antisocial behaviour, police can then assess and respond to it in accordance with established priorities. The type of cooperation between police and the community, along with the innovative approaches to policing public places being adopted by ACT Policing, is the best way to ensure our shopping precincts are safe and secure places for business operators, shoppers and other users.
Places where people congregate in numbers such as suburban or town centre shopping centres can at times become a focus of crime and antisocial behaviour. However, with
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