❓ Mrs Roberts questions the Minister for Police about motor vehicle theft rates and recovery in WA, highlighting a perceived increase in unrecovered vehicles. The Minister defends the government's record, citing a decrease in theft rates and ongoing efforts to improve recovery.
AnsweredQoN 319Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
(1) Is the minister aware that between July 1999 and June 2000, 13 507 motor vehicles were stolen in Western Australia? (2) Is the minister further aware that 2 278, or 17 per cent, of these vehicles were never recovered? (3) Is this not an abysmal record when compared with an average recovery rate between 1993 and 1997 of 11 per cent? (4) Given the fact that this State still has among the highest motor vehicle theft rate in the nation, our non-recovery rate has almost doubled, and some $40m-worth of cars have not been recovered, will the minister now admit his failure and re-establish the motor vehicle theft squad, as he was asked to by Peter Fitzpatrick in this morning's paper? Mr PRINCE
AnswerView source ↗
(1)-(4) The member for Midland’s figures are long out of date. She should read the paper that I tabled which gives a state-by-state comparison of motor vehicle theft rates. We are moving towards being the State with the lowest rate. WA is certainly leading the direction downwards, in not only the number of thefts but also the clearance rates. Mrs Roberts: The recovery rate has blown out of all scale. Mr PRINCE: I know what the member for Midland is talking about. Western Australia is leading the direction downwards a whole heap better than any other State is. Targeted policing, such as Operation Carrier which ran in Joondalup for about 10 weeks, resulted in a 12.7 per cent decrease in the number of car thefts, as against the September quarter last year, and a 16 per cent decrease compared with the June quarter. In addition, an immobiliser campaign is running to prevent opportunistic theft. I agree that the vehicle recovery rate is of concern. However, WA’s reduction in the number of car thefts goes against the national trend. It is the only State in which the rate is reducing, and that is because of government action in the past two years. Other areas, such as vehicle recovery, are being attended to. The member for Midland should watch this space, as she will see some new figures. For years she has been beating up the notion that Western Australia has an out-of-control motor vehicle theft rate. Nationally we are leading the way; again, because this Government gets on with the job and produces the goods. All the member for Midland ever did was produce press releases and handouts which came back to bite everybody.
(2) Is the minister further aware that 2 278, or 17 per cent, of these vehicles were never recovered? (3) Is this not an abysmal record when compared with an average recovery rate between 1993 and 1997 of 11 per cent? (4) Given the fact that this State still has among the highest motor vehicle theft rate in the nation, our non-recovery rate has almost doubled, and some $40m-worth of cars have not been recovered, will the minister now admit his failure and re-establish the motor vehicle theft squad, as he was asked to by Peter Fitzpatrick in this morning's paper? Mr PRINCE replied: (1)-(4) The member for Midland’s figures are long out of date. She should read the paper that I tabled which gives a state-by-state comparison of motor vehicle theft rates. We are moving towards being the State with the lowest rate. WA is certainly leading the direction downwards, in not only the number of thefts but also the clearance rates. Mrs Roberts: The recovery rate has blown out of all scale. Mr PRINCE: I know what the member for Midland is talking about. Western Australia is leading the direction downwards a whole heap better than any other State is. Targeted policing, such as Operation Carrier which ran in Joondalup for about 10 weeks, resulted in a 12.7 per cent decrease in the number of car thefts, as against the September quarter last year, and a 16 per cent decrease compared with the June quarter. In addition, an immobiliser campaign is running to prevent opportunistic theft. I agree that the vehicle recovery rate is of concern. However, WA’s reduction in the number of car thefts goes against the national trend. It is the only State in which the rate is reducing, and that is because of government action in the past two years. Other areas, such as vehicle recovery, are being attended to. The member for Midland should watch this space, as she will see some new figures. For years she has been beating up the notion that Western Australia has an out-of-control motor vehicle theft rate. Nationally we are leading the way; again, because this Government gets on with the job and produces the goods. All the member for Midland ever did was produce press releases and handouts which came back to bite everybody.
(3) Is this not an abysmal record when compared with an average recovery rate between 1993 and 1997 of 11 per cent? (4) Given the fact that this State still has among the highest motor vehicle theft rate in the nation, our non-recovery rate has almost doubled, and some $40m-worth of cars have not been recovered, will the minister now admit his failure and re-establish the motor vehicle theft squad, as he was asked to by Peter Fitzpatrick in this morning's paper? Mr PRINCE replied: (1)-(4) The member for Midland’s figures are long out of date. She should read the paper that I tabled which gives a state-by-state comparison of motor vehicle theft rates. We are moving towards being the State with the lowest rate. WA is certainly leading the direction downwards, in not only the number of thefts but also the clearance rates. Mrs Roberts: The recovery rate has blown out of all scale. Mr PRINCE: I know what the member for Midland is talking about. Western Australia is leading the direction downwards a whole heap better than any other State is. Targeted policing, such as Operation Carrier which ran in Joondalup for about 10 weeks, resulted in a 12.7 per cent decrease in the number of car thefts, as against the September quarter last year, and a 16 per cent decrease compared with the June quarter. In addition, an immobiliser campaign is running to prevent opportunistic theft. I agree that the vehicle recovery rate is of concern. However, WA’s reduction in the number of car thefts goes against the national trend. It is the only State in which the rate is reducing, and that is because of government action in the past two years. Other areas, such as vehicle recovery, are being attended to. The member for Midland should watch this space, as she will see some new figures. For years she has been beating up the notion that Western Australia has an out-of-control motor vehicle theft rate. Nationally we are leading the way; again, because this Government gets on with the job and produces the goods. All the member for Midland ever did was produce press releases and handouts which came back to bite everybody.
(4) Given the fact that this State still has among the highest motor vehicle theft rate in the nation, our non-recovery rate has almost doubled, and some $40m-worth of cars have not been recovered, will the minister now admit his failure and re-establish the motor vehicle theft squad, as he was asked to by Peter Fitzpatrick in this morning's paper? Mr PRINCE replied: (1)-(4) The member for Midland’s figures are long out of date. She should read the paper that I tabled which gives a state-by-state comparison of motor vehicle theft rates. We are moving towards being the State with the lowest rate. WA is certainly leading the direction downwards, in not only the number of thefts but also the clearance rates. Mrs Roberts: The recovery rate has blown out of all scale. Mr PRINCE: I know what the member for Midland is talking about. Western Australia is leading the direction downwards a whole heap better than any other State is. Targeted policing, such as Operation Carrier which ran in Joondalup for about 10 weeks, resulted in a 12.7 per cent decrease in the number of car thefts, as against the September quarter last year, and a 16 per cent decrease compared with the June quarter. In addition, an immobiliser campaign is running to prevent opportunistic theft. I agree that the vehicle recovery rate is of concern. However, WA’s reduction in the number of car thefts goes against the national trend. It is the only State in which the rate is reducing, and that is because of government action in the past two years. Other areas, such as vehicle recovery, are being attended to. The member for Midland should watch this space, as she will see some new figures. For years she has been beating up the notion that Western Australia has an out-of-control motor vehicle theft rate. Nationally we are leading the way; again, because this Government gets on with the job and produces the goods. All the member for Midland ever did was produce press releases and handouts which came back to bite everybody.
Mr PRINCE replied: (1)-(4) The member for Midland’s figures are long out of date. She should read the paper that I tabled which gives a state-by-state comparison of motor vehicle theft rates. We are moving towards being the State with the lowest rate. WA is certainly leading the direction downwards, in not only the number of thefts but also the clearance rates. Mrs Roberts: The recovery rate has blown out of all scale. Mr PRINCE: I know what the member for Midland is talking about. Western Australia is leading the direction downwards a whole heap better than any other State is. Targeted policing, such as Operation Carrier which ran in Joondalup for about 10 weeks, resulted in a 12.7 per cent decrease in the number of car thefts, as against the September quarter last year, and a 16 per cent decrease compared with the June quarter. In addition, an immobiliser campaign is running to prevent opportunistic theft. I agree that the vehicle recovery rate is of concern. However, WA’s reduction in the number of car thefts goes against the national trend. It is the only State in which the rate is reducing, and that is because of government action in the past two years. Other areas, such as vehicle recovery, are being attended to. The member for Midland should watch this space, as she will see some new figures. For years she has been beating up the notion that Western Australia has an out-of-control motor vehicle theft rate. Nationally we are leading the way; again, because this Government gets on with the job and produces the goods. All the member for Midland ever did was produce press releases and handouts which came back to bite everybody.
(1)-(4) The member for Midland’s figures are long out of date. She should read the paper that I tabled which gives a state-by-state comparison of motor vehicle theft rates. We are moving towards being the State with the lowest rate. WA is certainly leading the direction downwards, in not only the number of thefts but also the clearance rates. Mrs Roberts: The recovery rate has blown out of all scale. Mr PRINCE: I know what the member for Midland is talking about. Western Australia is leading the direction downwards a whole heap better than any other State is. Targeted policing, such as Operation Carrier which ran in Joondalup for about 10 weeks, resulted in a 12.7 per cent decrease in the number of car thefts, as against the September quarter last year, and a 16 per cent decrease compared with the June quarter. In addition, an immobiliser campaign is running to prevent opportunistic theft. I agree that the vehicle recovery rate is of concern. However, WA’s reduction in the number of car thefts goes against the national trend. It is the only State in which the rate is reducing, and that is because of government action in the past two years. Other areas, such as vehicle recovery, are being attended to. The member for Midland should watch this space, as she will see some new figures. For years she has been beating up the notion that Western Australia has an out-of-control motor vehicle theft rate. Nationally we are leading the way; again, because this Government gets on with the job and produces the goods. All the member for Midland ever did was produce press releases and handouts which came back to bite everybody.
Mrs Roberts: The recovery rate has blown out of all scale. Mr PRINCE: I know what the member for Midland is talking about. Western Australia is leading the direction downwards a whole heap better than any other State is. Targeted policing, such as Operation Carrier which ran in Joondalup for about 10 weeks, resulted in a 12.7 per cent decrease in the number of car thefts, as against the September quarter last year, and a 16 per cent decrease compared with the June quarter. In addition, an immobiliser campaign is running to prevent opportunistic theft. I agree that the vehicle recovery rate is of concern. However, WA’s reduction in the number of car thefts goes against the national trend. It is the only State in which the rate is reducing, and that is because of government action in the past two years. Other areas, such as vehicle recovery, are being attended to. The member for Midland should watch this space, as she will see some new figures. For years she has been beating up the notion that Western Australia has an out-of-control motor vehicle theft rate. Nationally we are leading the way; again, because this Government gets on with the job and produces the goods. All the member for Midland ever did was produce press releases and handouts which came back to bite everybody.
Mr PRINCE: I know what the member for Midland is talking about. Western Australia is leading the direction downwards a whole heap better than any other State is. Targeted policing, such as Operation Carrier which ran in Joondalup for about 10 weeks, resulted in a 12.7 per cent decrease in the number of car thefts, as against the September quarter last year, and a 16 per cent decrease compared with the June quarter. In addition, an immobiliser campaign is running to prevent opportunistic theft. I agree that the vehicle recovery rate is of concern. However, WA’s reduction in the number of car thefts goes against the national trend. It is the only State in which the rate is reducing, and that is because of government action in the past two years. Other areas, such as vehicle recovery, are being attended to. The member for Midland should watch this space, as she will see some new figures. For years she has been beating up the notion that Western Australia has an out-of-control motor vehicle theft rate. Nationally we are leading the way; again, because this Government gets on with the job and produces the goods. All the member for Midland ever did was produce press releases and handouts which came back to bite everybody.
I agree that the vehicle recovery rate is of concern. However, WA’s reduction in the number of car thefts goes against the national trend. It is the only State in which the rate is reducing, and that is because of government action in the past two years. Other areas, such as vehicle recovery, are being attended to. The member for Midland should watch this space, as she will see some new figures. For years she has been beating up the notion that Western Australia has an out-of-control motor vehicle theft rate. Nationally we are leading the way; again, because this Government gets on with the job and produces the goods. All the member for Midland ever did was produce press releases and handouts which came back to bite everybody.
(2) Is the minister further aware that 2 278, or 17 per cent, of these vehicles were never recovered? (3) Is this not an abysmal record when compared with an average recovery rate between 1993 and 1997 of 11 per cent? (4) Given the fact that this State still has among the highest motor vehicle theft rate in the nation, our non-recovery rate has almost doubled, and some $40m-worth of cars have not been recovered, will the minister now admit his failure and re-establish the motor vehicle theft squad, as he was asked to by Peter Fitzpatrick in this morning's paper? Mr PRINCE replied: (1)-(4) The member for Midland’s figures are long out of date. She should read the paper that I tabled which gives a state-by-state comparison of motor vehicle theft rates. We are moving towards being the State with the lowest rate. WA is certainly leading the direction downwards, in not only the number of thefts but also the clearance rates. Mrs Roberts: The recovery rate has blown out of all scale. Mr PRINCE: I know what the member for Midland is talking about. Western Australia is leading the direction downwards a whole heap better than any other State is. Targeted policing, such as Operation Carrier which ran in Joondalup for about 10 weeks, resulted in a 12.7 per cent decrease in the number of car thefts, as against the September quarter last year, and a 16 per cent decrease compared with the June quarter. In addition, an immobiliser campaign is running to prevent opportunistic theft. I agree that the vehicle recovery rate is of concern. However, WA’s reduction in the number of car thefts goes against the national trend. It is the only State in which the rate is reducing, and that is because of government action in the past two years. Other areas, such as vehicle recovery, are being attended to. The member for Midland should watch this space, as she will see some new figures. For years she has been beating up the notion that Western Australia has an out-of-control motor vehicle theft rate. Nationally we are leading the way; again, because this Government gets on with the job and produces the goods. All the member for Midland ever did was produce press releases and handouts which came back to bite everybody.
(3) Is this not an abysmal record when compared with an average recovery rate between 1993 and 1997 of 11 per cent? (4) Given the fact that this State still has among the highest motor vehicle theft rate in the nation, our non-recovery rate has almost doubled, and some $40m-worth of cars have not been recovered, will the minister now admit his failure and re-establish the motor vehicle theft squad, as he was asked to by Peter Fitzpatrick in this morning's paper? Mr PRINCE replied: (1)-(4) The member for Midland’s figures are long out of date. She should read the paper that I tabled which gives a state-by-state comparison of motor vehicle theft rates. We are moving towards being the State with the lowest rate. WA is certainly leading the direction downwards, in not only the number of thefts but also the clearance rates. Mrs Roberts: The recovery rate has blown out of all scale. Mr PRINCE: I know what the member for Midland is talking about. Western Australia is leading the direction downwards a whole heap better than any other State is. Targeted policing, such as Operation Carrier which ran in Joondalup for about 10 weeks, resulted in a 12.7 per cent decrease in the number of car thefts, as against the September quarter last year, and a 16 per cent decrease compared with the June quarter. In addition, an immobiliser campaign is running to prevent opportunistic theft. I agree that the vehicle recovery rate is of concern. However, WA’s reduction in the number of car thefts goes against the national trend. It is the only State in which the rate is reducing, and that is because of government action in the past two years. Other areas, such as vehicle recovery, are being attended to. The member for Midland should watch this space, as she will see some new figures. For years she has been beating up the notion that Western Australia has an out-of-control motor vehicle theft rate. Nationally we are leading the way; again, because this Government gets on with the job and produces the goods. All the member for Midland ever did was produce press releases and handouts which came back to bite everybody.
(4) Given the fact that this State still has among the highest motor vehicle theft rate in the nation, our non-recovery rate has almost doubled, and some $40m-worth of cars have not been recovered, will the minister now admit his failure and re-establish the motor vehicle theft squad, as he was asked to by Peter Fitzpatrick in this morning's paper? Mr PRINCE replied: (1)-(4) The member for Midland’s figures are long out of date. She should read the paper that I tabled which gives a state-by-state comparison of motor vehicle theft rates. We are moving towards being the State with the lowest rate. WA is certainly leading the direction downwards, in not only the number of thefts but also the clearance rates. Mrs Roberts: The recovery rate has blown out of all scale. Mr PRINCE: I know what the member for Midland is talking about. Western Australia is leading the direction downwards a whole heap better than any other State is. Targeted policing, such as Operation Carrier which ran in Joondalup for about 10 weeks, resulted in a 12.7 per cent decrease in the number of car thefts, as against the September quarter last year, and a 16 per cent decrease compared with the June quarter. In addition, an immobiliser campaign is running to prevent opportunistic theft. I agree that the vehicle recovery rate is of concern. However, WA’s reduction in the number of car thefts goes against the national trend. It is the only State in which the rate is reducing, and that is because of government action in the past two years. Other areas, such as vehicle recovery, are being attended to. The member for Midland should watch this space, as she will see some new figures. For years she has been beating up the notion that Western Australia has an out-of-control motor vehicle theft rate. Nationally we are leading the way; again, because this Government gets on with the job and produces the goods. All the member for Midland ever did was produce press releases and handouts which came back to bite everybody.
Mr PRINCE replied: (1)-(4) The member for Midland’s figures are long out of date. She should read the paper that I tabled which gives a state-by-state comparison of motor vehicle theft rates. We are moving towards being the State with the lowest rate. WA is certainly leading the direction downwards, in not only the number of thefts but also the clearance rates. Mrs Roberts: The recovery rate has blown out of all scale. Mr PRINCE: I know what the member for Midland is talking about. Western Australia is leading the direction downwards a whole heap better than any other State is. Targeted policing, such as Operation Carrier which ran in Joondalup for about 10 weeks, resulted in a 12.7 per cent decrease in the number of car thefts, as against the September quarter last year, and a 16 per cent decrease compared with the June quarter. In addition, an immobiliser campaign is running to prevent opportunistic theft. I agree that the vehicle recovery rate is of concern. However, WA’s reduction in the number of car thefts goes against the national trend. It is the only State in which the rate is reducing, and that is because of government action in the past two years. Other areas, such as vehicle recovery, are being attended to. The member for Midland should watch this space, as she will see some new figures. For years she has been beating up the notion that Western Australia has an out-of-control motor vehicle theft rate. Nationally we are leading the way; again, because this Government gets on with the job and produces the goods. All the member for Midland ever did was produce press releases and handouts which came back to bite everybody.
(1)-(4) The member for Midland’s figures are long out of date. She should read the paper that I tabled which gives a state-by-state comparison of motor vehicle theft rates. We are moving towards being the State with the lowest rate. WA is certainly leading the direction downwards, in not only the number of thefts but also the clearance rates. Mrs Roberts: The recovery rate has blown out of all scale. Mr PRINCE: I know what the member for Midland is talking about. Western Australia is leading the direction downwards a whole heap better than any other State is. Targeted policing, such as Operation Carrier which ran in Joondalup for about 10 weeks, resulted in a 12.7 per cent decrease in the number of car thefts, as against the September quarter last year, and a 16 per cent decrease compared with the June quarter. In addition, an immobiliser campaign is running to prevent opportunistic theft. I agree that the vehicle recovery rate is of concern. However, WA’s reduction in the number of car thefts goes against the national trend. It is the only State in which the rate is reducing, and that is because of government action in the past two years. Other areas, such as vehicle recovery, are being attended to. The member for Midland should watch this space, as she will see some new figures. For years she has been beating up the notion that Western Australia has an out-of-control motor vehicle theft rate. Nationally we are leading the way; again, because this Government gets on with the job and produces the goods. All the member for Midland ever did was produce press releases and handouts which came back to bite everybody.
Mrs Roberts: The recovery rate has blown out of all scale. Mr PRINCE: I know what the member for Midland is talking about. Western Australia is leading the direction downwards a whole heap better than any other State is. Targeted policing, such as Operation Carrier which ran in Joondalup for about 10 weeks, resulted in a 12.7 per cent decrease in the number of car thefts, as against the September quarter last year, and a 16 per cent decrease compared with the June quarter. In addition, an immobiliser campaign is running to prevent opportunistic theft. I agree that the vehicle recovery rate is of concern. However, WA’s reduction in the number of car thefts goes against the national trend. It is the only State in which the rate is reducing, and that is because of government action in the past two years. Other areas, such as vehicle recovery, are being attended to. The member for Midland should watch this space, as she will see some new figures. For years she has been beating up the notion that Western Australia has an out-of-control motor vehicle theft rate. Nationally we are leading the way; again, because this Government gets on with the job and produces the goods. All the member for Midland ever did was produce press releases and handouts which came back to bite everybody.
Mr PRINCE: I know what the member for Midland is talking about. Western Australia is leading the direction downwards a whole heap better than any other State is. Targeted policing, such as Operation Carrier which ran in Joondalup for about 10 weeks, resulted in a 12.7 per cent decrease in the number of car thefts, as against the September quarter last year, and a 16 per cent decrease compared with the June quarter. In addition, an immobiliser campaign is running to prevent opportunistic theft. I agree that the vehicle recovery rate is of concern. However, WA’s reduction in the number of car thefts goes against the national trend. It is the only State in which the rate is reducing, and that is because of government action in the past two years. Other areas, such as vehicle recovery, are being attended to. The member for Midland should watch this space, as she will see some new figures. For years she has been beating up the notion that Western Australia has an out-of-control motor vehicle theft rate. Nationally we are leading the way; again, because this Government gets on with the job and produces the goods. All the member for Midland ever did was produce press releases and handouts which came back to bite everybody.
I agree that the vehicle recovery rate is of concern. However, WA’s reduction in the number of car thefts goes against the national trend. It is the only State in which the rate is reducing, and that is because of government action in the past two years. Other areas, such as vehicle recovery, are being attended to. The member for Midland should watch this space, as she will see some new figures. For years she has been beating up the notion that Western Australia has an out-of-control motor vehicle theft rate. Nationally we are leading the way; again, because this Government gets on with the job and produces the goods. All the member for Midland ever did was produce press releases and handouts which came back to bite everybody.
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