Page 4554 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 26 November 2019
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MADAM SPEAKER: Members, you have asked a question. Allow the minister to provide the answer.
MR GENTLEMAN: In relation to Tuggeranong, the total number of offences reported has decreased by 13 per cent in the last financial year, and 27 per cent over the past five years. I congratulate the hardworking men and women of ACT Policing, who are doing this work. It is a great achievement, I think, for Canberra’s south.
Incidences of crime are declining in Tuggeranong but when they do occur, ACT police respond in a timely manner. For example, police responded to reports of a disturbance at a house on Proctor Street in Chisholm last Wednesday, 20 November. Within two hours ACT police had located the alleged offender at Chisholm cricket oval and charged him with arson, possessing offensive weapons and assault occasioning bodily harm. We do continue to invest in ACT police numbers as the years go forward. If we look at the FTE headcount for 2017-18, 931—
Opposition members interjecting—
MADAM SPEAKER: Minister, try to ignore the interjections.
MS LAWDER: Minister, when will the residents of Tuggeranong who are out and about in the evenings see the benefits of your plan to address night-time crime in Tuggeranong?
MR GENTLEMAN: I thank Ms Lawder for her supplementary question. I have referred to the work that ACT Policing are doing in responding to crime in a timely manner. I have talked about the incident in Proctor Street in Chisholm last Wednesday. Early in October ACT police located and arrested a Gordon man in Monash and charged him with two counts of aggravated burglary and a breach of bail, following an overnight ram raid.
ACT Policing are continuing to work with Neighbourhood Watch and to engage with groups and residents in Tuggeranong to prevent and respond to incidents in a timely manner. The ACT government is continuing to work with and invest in ACT Policing to ensure that incidences of crime in Tuggeranong remain low and that they are responded to quickly when they do occur.
MR PARTON: Minister, are the residents of Tuggeranong wrong when they say that they do not feel safe when they go out at night?
MR GENTLEMAN: The response to government surveys in the past shows that Canberra is a safe city. The response from the Chief Police Officer indicates that Canberra is a safe city. The results of crime per capita show that Canberra is a safe city.
Opposition members interjecting—
MADAM SPEAKER: Members, please! Enough; you will start to be warned.
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