A parliamentary question sought data on property and personal crimes in WA for 1998/99, and the percentage committed by repeat offenders. The Minister provided crime statistics but declined to provide data on repeat offenders due to resource constraints.

AnsweredQoN 291Legislative Assembly
Asked
9 August 2000
Portfolio
Police

QuestionView source ↗

(1) What was the total number of crimes against property and crimes against the person committed in 1998/99? (2) What percentage of these offences were committed by perpetrators with pre-existing criminal records? Answered on 6 September 2000 The Minister

AnswerView source ↗

Answered
6 September 2000
Response time
28 days
(1) As provided in the Western Australia Police Service 1998-1999 Annual Report to Parliament: v Total offences against property - 209,534 (1,2) v Total offences against the person - 21,379 (1,3) (2) To determine the number of 'perpetrators with pre-existing criminal records' would require the allocation of considerable police resources and time to extrapolate and validate the information from records associated with the above processes. Due to the resources and time needed to provide a response, I am unwilling to commit the resources required. Statistical Notes (1) The number of reported offences for a period (eg. week, month, quarter, year) comprises all offences reported during that period and may include offences committed during earlier periods. Therefore the reporting of historical offences will inflate the number of reported offences for a period. (2) 'Offences against property' include: burglary, stealing, motor vehicle theft, fraud, arson and damage offences. (3) 'Offences against the person' include: homicide, driving causing death, robbery, assault, sexual assault and deprivation of liberty.
(2) What percentage of these offences were committed by perpetrators with pre-existing criminal records? Answered on 6 September 2000 The Minister Replied: (1) As provided in the Western Australia Police Service 1998-1999 Annual Report to Parliament: v Total offences against property - 209,534 (1,2) v Total offences against the person - 21,379 (1,3) (2) To determine the number of 'perpetrators with pre-existing criminal records' would require the allocation of considerable police resources and time to extrapolate and validate the information from records associated with the above processes. Due to the resources and time needed to provide a response, I am unwilling to commit the resources required. Statistical Notes (1) The number of reported offences for a period (eg. week, month, quarter, year) comprises all offences reported during that period and may include offences committed during earlier periods. Therefore the reporting of historical offences will inflate the number of reported offences for a period. (2) 'Offences against property' include: burglary, stealing, motor vehicle theft, fraud, arson and damage offences. (3) 'Offences against the person' include: homicide, driving causing death, robbery, assault, sexual assault and deprivation of liberty.
Answered on 6 September 2000 The Minister Replied: (1) As provided in the Western Australia Police Service 1998-1999 Annual Report to Parliament: v Total offences against property - 209,534 (1,2) v Total offences against the person - 21,379 (1,3) (2) To determine the number of 'perpetrators with pre-existing criminal records' would require the allocation of considerable police resources and time to extrapolate and validate the information from records associated with the above processes. Due to the resources and time needed to provide a response, I am unwilling to commit the resources required. Statistical Notes (1) The number of reported offences for a period (eg. week, month, quarter, year) comprises all offences reported during that period and may include offences committed during earlier periods. Therefore the reporting of historical offences will inflate the number of reported offences for a period. (2) 'Offences against property' include: burglary, stealing, motor vehicle theft, fraud, arson and damage offences. (3) 'Offences against the person' include: homicide, driving causing death, robbery, assault, sexual assault and deprivation of liberty.

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