Ms. Mettam questions the Minister for Police regarding a 16% increase in drug offences in 2023, prompting a response highlighting police efforts and ongoing challenges with organised crime.

AnsweredQoN 178Legislative Assembly
Asked
20 March 2024
Portfolio
Police

QuestionView source ↗

DRUG OFFENCES
178. Ms L. METTAM to the Minister for Police:
I have a supplementary question.
Does the minister believe that a 16 per cent increase in total drug offences in
2023 is an acceptable outcome for the community?
Ms M.M. Quirk interjected.
The SPEAKER : Just before you
answer, I am going to ask the member for Landsdale not to interject every time
the Leader of the Liberal Party asks a question.
Ms M.M. Quirk interjected.
Ms L. Mettam interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please! I
refer to the old saying: two wrongs do not make a right.

AnswerView source ↗

I thank the member. It is a fact
that the threat of organised crime will not go away in a hurry. We are driven
to provide the police with every power, resource and capability necessary to do
their job as effectively as they can. It is undeniable that they are doing a pretty
good job when they have seized 314 kilograms of meth in the last seven or eight
months and $22 million in cash, but that does not mean that the problem is
solved or it is the end of the effort. We must focus at all times on whatever
we can do to intercept the flow of drugs and disrupt the purveyors of harm on
the community, who are, essentially, in Western Australia, outlaw motorcycle
gangs. The drugs that are brought into the nation from overseas by triads,
cartels and mafias are distributed in our state by predominantly those
organised criminals or outlaw motorcycle gangs. The member and everyone else
knows that we are focused on delivering as
many powers to the police as necessary for them to disrupt that activity. They
are doing a great job.

Explore WA Government Data

Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.

Explore more