Mr BALCH - 2000-11-29
Property crime in our community is an issue that all members, particularly on this side of the House, are very concerned about. For my own part I have been working with a group of residents in the Wagaman area who have been working over time to find ways of dealing with this particular issue. Does the minister have any figures that demonstrate any long-term trends in respect to the number of reported property offences?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I thank the honourable member for Jingili for his question. It is appreciated that he has the concerns of not only his constituents but all Territorians at heart. It is a great concern to read at any time, or to hear, that someone has had their property violated, that they experienced damage or loss to their personal property.
This government will continue to direct more resources to the police to ensure that those opportunities are absolutely minimised. Over the last few years we have increased the police budget by 46% to assist Territorians, to make them safer and to be able to ensure that their property is protected.
Only recently, I launched the NTsafe grants program - $250 000 for community programs to further enhance community safety. I am pleased that the member for Millner took immediate opportunities there in terms of concerns that his constituents have. They sought a grant to place lighting in a walkway through a residential subdivision so that that area could be made more safe. It is a great shame that those constituents have not had responses from Darwin City Council in that regard. It is really their responsibility. But what it does demonstrate is that NTsafe is working and people are looking for things that they can do to enhance safety in their communities. They can be part of it, forming NTsafe committees to make their community a safer place.
In addition to that, I am pleased to advise in relation to reported offences against property that they have dropped from more than 19 000 in 1998-99 to 17 501 last financial year, 1999-2000. The figure also compares favourably with the 1995-1998 figure of more than 20 000 reported offences against property.
The steady reduction in crime against property during the last five years was a result of the dedication of police, the high level of government resources that have been directed towards police and a tough approach to dealing with criminals. This lot opposite want to give them a bit of a soft talking to and say: ‘Go away and don’t do that again. We don’t want mandatory sentencing. If you go and break into a house we will just have a quiet little chat to you and let you out to go and do it again’. Well, we are not of that mind. That is why we have mandatory sentencing and that is why if someone breaks in and damages someone’s property then they will suffer the consequences.
I have to reinforce those figures that I have just referred to, which equate to a 2570 drop in reported property offences between 1995-96 and the end of last financial year which shows a decreasing trend against property crime. I am very encouraged by that. We will not be backing off in terms of the resources that we put forward for police to combat that.
I note the success of police in apprehending – I think it was five people reported in today’s newspaper – for those types of offences. I commend police for their efforts and I also commend those business people in the Winnellie area for getting together and taking a community approach to those issues and working with police to achieve those results.
To reinforce those statistics, I table the 1999-2000 annual report for the Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I thank the honourable member for Jingili for his question. It is appreciated that he has the concerns of not only his constituents but all Territorians at heart. It is a great concern to read at any time, or to hear, that someone has had their property violated, that they experienced damage or loss to their personal property.
This government will continue to direct more resources to the police to ensure that those opportunities are absolutely minimised. Over the last few years we have increased the police budget by 46% to assist Territorians, to make them safer and to be able to ensure that their property is protected.
Only recently, I launched the NTsafe grants program - $250 000 for community programs to further enhance community safety. I am pleased that the member for Millner took immediate opportunities there in terms of concerns that his constituents have. They sought a grant to place lighting in a walkway through a residential subdivision so that that area could be made more safe. It is a great shame that those constituents have not had responses from Darwin City Council in that regard. It is really their responsibility. But what it does demonstrate is that NTsafe is working and people are looking for things that they can do to enhance safety in their communities. They can be part of it, forming NTsafe committees to make their community a safer place.
In addition to that, I am pleased to advise in relation to reported offences against property that they have dropped from more than 19 000 in 1998-99 to 17 501 last financial year, 1999-2000. The figure also compares favourably with the 1995-1998 figure of more than 20 000 reported offences against property.
The steady reduction in crime against property during the last five years was a result of the dedication of police, the high level of government resources that have been directed towards police and a tough approach to dealing with criminals. This lot opposite want to give them a bit of a soft talking to and say: ‘Go away and don’t do that again. We don’t want mandatory sentencing. If you go and break into a house we will just have a quiet little chat to you and let you out to go and do it again’. Well, we are not of that mind. That is why we have mandatory sentencing and that is why if someone breaks in and damages someone’s property then they will suffer the consequences.
I have to reinforce those figures that I have just referred to, which equate to a 2570 drop in reported property offences between 1995-96 and the end of last financial year which shows a decreasing trend against property crime. I am very encouraged by that. We will not be backing off in terms of the resources that we put forward for police to combat that.
I note the success of police in apprehending – I think it was five people reported in today’s newspaper – for those types of offences. I commend police for their efforts and I also commend those business people in the Winnellie area for getting together and taking a community approach to those issues and working with police to achieve those results.
To reinforce those statistics, I table the 1999-2000 annual report for the Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016