Page 2157 - Week 07 - Thursday, 16 May 2013
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Burglary and break and enter offences are down by 21 per cent. Sexual offences have decreased by 20 per cent. I have mentioned already public order and assault. I will also deal with property damage, including environmental offences. They are down by 15 per cent. Motor vehicle theft is down by 10 per cent and weapons offences are down by seven per cent.
These are excellent results for our community. They are a result of dedicated work by our police working in concert with other government agencies around our property crime reduction strategy. These have real and tangible benefits for our citizens. In particular, when you look, for example, at burglary and break and enter offences, there were 587 fewer offences in the last 12 months compared to the 12 months before. That is 587 fewer homes that were broken into or had property stolen from as a result of this excellent work by ACT Policing.
Equally, 115 fewer motor vehicles were stolen in the last 12 months compared to the previous 12 months before that. That really highlights the very important work being done by our police, this government’s commitment to continuing to make Canberra a safe city—indeed, one of the safest cities and most secure cities in the country.
We intend to build on these results through the development and deployment of our property crime reduction strategy in particular, as well as the reforms this government has already put in place, such as our liquor licensing reforms that have put more police on the beat dealing with liquor licensing matters and which have seen a resultant reduction in the number of alcohol-related crimes occurring in our community.
This government has a strong record on community safety, on providing better policing services, and as a result we see the statistics that I have mentioned today. We will continue to build on those into the future.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mr Gentleman.
MR GENTLEMAN: Minister, what initiatives has the government put in place to contribute to these excellent results?
MR CORBELL: I thank Mr Gentleman for the supplementary. As I have already indicated, the property crime reduction strategy is a vital part of this activity, along with the volume crime reduction strategy being implemented by ACT Policing.
The property crime reduction strategy in particular is designed to build on an informed evidence base of strategies to keep reducing the cycle of property crime in our community. This is about breaking cycles of offending and the associated cycles of vulnerability which are often the causes of crime—things like poor mental health, poor physical health, low levels of education, lack of a job, unreliable or no housing. These are all factors that contribute to people choosing to commit crimes. Therefore tackling these problems reduces the level of crime in our community.
The property crime reduction strategy outlines how vulnerable and at-risk youth will be engaged in education, training and employment to encourage them to choose an
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