Page 935 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 20 March 2012
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I also note that the CPO has written in similar terms to the minister and to Mr Hanson. What I take from the CPO’s letter is that if we are serious about protecting our police from assaults, we need to do at least two things: firstly, we need to gather better data about when and where incidents are occurring; secondly, making use of that better data, we need to, as the CPO says, make necessary adjustments to operational protocols and training.
This is where there is the potential to deliver real results for the police. Those are two upcoming areas where the ACT can take an evidence-based approach. If we fail and take the alternative approach of being stuck in tired slogans about cracking down on crime, we will miss the opportunity we have to make a difference.
Civil Liberties Australia coined a phrase last year which I think sets up the choice that politicians have. It is a choice between an incident-based approach to law reform or we can take an evidence-based approach.
I would like to touch on another important piece of research that has been completed in recent years. Members may recall that the Greens have mentioned the Tasmanian jury survey previously. The results from this study bring home very clearly the importance of taking the time to gather data before leaping to legislation.
Put simply, what the Tasmanian jury survey found was that when asked in the abstract what they thought about sentences imposed by judges, many jurors thought judges were too lenient. However, when asked about the sentence handed down in the case they sat through, after hearing all the evidence and sentencing submissions, the results changed.
About 50 per cent thought the judge was too harsh in sentencing and the remaining 50 per cent thought the judge was too lenient. These findings strongly suggest the judges were striking an appropriate balance in their sentencing decisions. If these results were repeated in the ACT, it would provide a reliable measurement of informed community standards. Since this matter was last raised in the Assembly, it has been announced that the survey method will be replicated in Victoria. So there is certainly a growing awareness of the value of this approach.
Finally, I would like to make some comments about crime levels generally. There is a tendency in some parts of Australia for fear campaigns about crime to break out. Fortunately, this is not something the ACT has seen much of, and long may that be the case. Fear campaigns about crime spiralling out of control are problematic because when you look at the long-term data, the picture is actually quite promising.
Members will have received today from Jason Clare, the federal Minister for Justice, the publication Australian crime: facts and figures 2011. Some of the facts there are quite revealing and show that over the long run we are a safe community compared to the past.
I would just like to go to some of those key statistics from the letter. These include that break-ins have been cut by about half since 1996, that car theft has dropped by
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