❓ A parliamentary question regarding crime rates in WA following the release of ABS figures. The Minister for Police responds by highlighting reductions in various crime categories since the McGowan government took office and outlining initiatives undertaken by the WA Police Force.
AnsweredQoN 499Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
POLICE — CRIME RATES
499. MR S.J. PRICE to the Minister for Police:
I refer to the Australian Bureau of Statistics'
figures that were released this morning regarding victims of crime. Can the
minister outline to the house what these figures show about the McGowan Labor
government's commitment to reducing crime and protecting our community?
499. MR S.J. PRICE to the Minister for Police:
I refer to the Australian Bureau of Statistics'
figures that were released this morning regarding victims of crime. Can the
minister outline to the house what these figures show about the McGowan Labor
government's commitment to reducing crime and protecting our community?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Forrestfield for the question and for
his commitment to policing and to driving crime rates down. I know that it is a
significant issue in his community around Forrestfield and certainly in many
others. The fact of the matter is that since we have come to government, we
have been very much focused on delivering better policing services to the
community and to driving down crime rates. People in here will well remember
those bad years back to 2015 and 2016 when we saw crime going up month after
month—not going up by two, three or four per cent, but going up by
double-digit amounts.
Right from the time we came to government, former police
commissioner Karl O'Callaghan was quick to modify what had been put in
place over those years, to move away from the local policing teams, and to
deliver on Labor's election commitments, such as the 24-hour police
stations, and the extended-hour police stations like we see in Forrestfield. In
Forrestfield, the police station no longer shuts at four in the afternoon but
is open until seven each night.
These changes in strategy are seeing some significant
changes. I am happy to inform the house, even though people opposite are
probably still in a state of denial, that Western Australia is the only state
to have seen a reduction in the number of victims of crime in every category.
Assault decreased for the first time in three years, down by 1 599 victims.
Robbery decreased by 18 per cent, from 1 301 victims in 2016 to 1 069 victims
in 2017. That is in contrast with a national decrease of two per cent; ours was
18 per cent. Both armed and unarmed robbery decreased by 25 per cent and 10 per
cent respectively. Motor vehicle theft decreased from 8 357 victims in 2016 to
7 201 victims in 2017. That is the lowest rate of motor vehicle theft since
2010. Other theft as a category decreased by some seven per cent.
I want to congratulate the Western Australia Police Force for
their efforts. Of course crime is driven by a range of other things, and WA
police alone cannot reduce crime in the community. But by responding quickly to
crime, solving crimes and working on crime prevention, they can make a significant
difference. We still have a lot of work to do. No level of crime is acceptable.
But the new commissioner, Commissioner Dawson, is moving on from those initial
first steps. Going live in July will be the new policing districts—a
much more local and responsive police force, with more officers in uniform
working out of police stations throughout our state. We have, of course, also
established the meth border force. Apart from, as I pointed out to this house
previously, them taking 1.4 tonnes of methamphetamine in seizures in Western Australia
over the past financial year, just today, again, the Commissioner of Police was
able to report a seizure of 25 kilograms—that is $25 million worth—of
methamphetamine taken from a vehicle on Great Eastern Highway. In addition, 280
grams of cocaine, a semiautomatic pistol, more than $10 000 in cash and some
ammunition was seized. That is a really significant seizure. I again
congratulate our very fine Western Australian police officers on the seizure of
such a significant amount of methamphetamine and other drugs on Great Eastern
Highway. Those drugs will not make their way into our community. This is a fine
effort by WA police, and I congratulate Commissioner Dawson and his team.
his commitment to policing and to driving crime rates down. I know that it is a
significant issue in his community around Forrestfield and certainly in many
others. The fact of the matter is that since we have come to government, we
have been very much focused on delivering better policing services to the
community and to driving down crime rates. People in here will well remember
those bad years back to 2015 and 2016 when we saw crime going up month after
month—not going up by two, three or four per cent, but going up by
double-digit amounts.
Right from the time we came to government, former police
commissioner Karl O'Callaghan was quick to modify what had been put in
place over those years, to move away from the local policing teams, and to
deliver on Labor's election commitments, such as the 24-hour police
stations, and the extended-hour police stations like we see in Forrestfield. In
Forrestfield, the police station no longer shuts at four in the afternoon but
is open until seven each night.
These changes in strategy are seeing some significant
changes. I am happy to inform the house, even though people opposite are
probably still in a state of denial, that Western Australia is the only state
to have seen a reduction in the number of victims of crime in every category.
Assault decreased for the first time in three years, down by 1 599 victims.
Robbery decreased by 18 per cent, from 1 301 victims in 2016 to 1 069 victims
in 2017. That is in contrast with a national decrease of two per cent; ours was
18 per cent. Both armed and unarmed robbery decreased by 25 per cent and 10 per
cent respectively. Motor vehicle theft decreased from 8 357 victims in 2016 to
7 201 victims in 2017. That is the lowest rate of motor vehicle theft since
2010. Other theft as a category decreased by some seven per cent.
I want to congratulate the Western Australia Police Force for
their efforts. Of course crime is driven by a range of other things, and WA
police alone cannot reduce crime in the community. But by responding quickly to
crime, solving crimes and working on crime prevention, they can make a significant
difference. We still have a lot of work to do. No level of crime is acceptable.
But the new commissioner, Commissioner Dawson, is moving on from those initial
first steps. Going live in July will be the new policing districts—a
much more local and responsive police force, with more officers in uniform
working out of police stations throughout our state. We have, of course, also
established the meth border force. Apart from, as I pointed out to this house
previously, them taking 1.4 tonnes of methamphetamine in seizures in Western Australia
over the past financial year, just today, again, the Commissioner of Police was
able to report a seizure of 25 kilograms—that is $25 million worth—of
methamphetamine taken from a vehicle on Great Eastern Highway. In addition, 280
grams of cocaine, a semiautomatic pistol, more than $10 000 in cash and some
ammunition was seized. That is a really significant seizure. I again
congratulate our very fine Western Australian police officers on the seizure of
such a significant amount of methamphetamine and other drugs on Great Eastern
Highway. Those drugs will not make their way into our community. This is a fine
effort by WA police, and I congratulate Commissioner Dawson and his team.
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