Page 3718 - Week 10 - Thursday, 19 September 2019
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Mr Gentleman: The answer to the member’s question is as follows:
1. A “ram raid” is not a definable criminal offence, however I understand the term is a commonly used phrase which refers to the criminal offence of aggravated burglary when occasioned with a vehicle.
I am informed by ACT Policing, over the short-term the ACT has experienced an increase in this form of aggravated burglary. ACT Policing are taking this seriously and in recent months have been successful in finding some of those responsible and placing them before the Courts.
It is important to recognise that all crime types are subject to short term variances and that long-term trend analysis provides a more accurate picture of crime affecting our community. It is pleasing to see reported shop burglaries decreased 23.3% in 2018-19, when compared to 10 years prior.
The Member will find further details about crime statistics in the ACT Policing Annual Report 2017-18, (available at www.police.act.gov.au/about-us/publications) and in the upcoming ACT Policing Annual Report 2018-19.
2. ACT Policing’s incident recording database is unable to differentiate between an aggravated burglary when occasioned with a vehicle, as opposed to an aggravated burglary when occasioned without. Any effort to quantify this form of aggravated burglary using a vehicle would require the manual review of all incidents by ACT Policing – an unreasonable diversion of policing resources.
The member can find details of the incidence of aggravated burglary in the ACT Policing Annual Report 2017-18 (available at www.police.act.gov.au/about-us/publications), or at ACT Policing’s online crime statistics website (accessible at https://policenews.act.gov.au/crime-statistics-and-data/crime-statistics). Please note these statistics do not differentiate an aggravated robbery or an aggravated burglary when occasioned with a vehicle.
ACT Policing are currently examining opportunities to refine their incident recording database to distinguish “ram raids” from other forms of aggravated burglary.
3. ACT Policing established the Crime Disruption Team (CDT) in November 2017 whose primary focus is targeting recidivist offending and emerging crime trends across the ACT. The CDT are an agile team of experienced investigators, readily deployable to address crime trends, including “ram raids” and recidivist offenders.
This flexible ACT Policing resource has demonstrated success in addressing emerging trends and priority issues for the Canberra community over the past two years. Our community can be satisfied that through this team of experienced investigators, and all other resources available to ACT Policing, that this Government and ACT Policing are committed to detecting, deterring and preventing “ram raids”.
4. Through the flexible and intelligence deployment of specialist resources, the operationalisation of intelligence, and continued engagement with partner law enforcement, ACT Government agencies and the community, ACT Policing is working to identify and prosecute offenders responsible for those “ram raids” that have affected our local businesses.
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