Mr GILES - 2009-02-18
Tomorrow, your government will announce a host of measures aimed at tackling youth crime in Alice Springs. As you know, interim measures were put in place prior to Christmas to deal with the anticipated increase in crime over the school holiday period. Business owners and others have reported a significant increase in the level of crime in the last two months. Can you advise how many recorded property crimes occurred in December and January in Alice Springs, including the number of commercial break-ins for the same period, and how does that compare to the same period the year before?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Braitling for his question. There has been a spike in the number of break-ins to commercial premises in Alice Springs. I have been briefed on that as Police minister, and yes, we will be making some significant announcements tomorrow in regard to the youth crime forums that were held with the member for Macdonnell as the Minister for Indigenous Policy, and local members.
I do not have those specific figures at my fingertips. They are reported on a quarterly basis through the Justice crime statistics. The member will not have to wait too long to get the information that he is asking for, because they will be reported through the quarterly crime statistics. They report four times a year, which is three times more than anywhere else in Australia, and those figures will be provided very soon.
I can advise, from police, that currently, between 85% and 90% of all property offences in Alice Springs result in arrest, and that is a remarkable clear up rate. I can also advise that there are very few residential break-ins occurring at the moment. Most break-ins are in commercial properties and most of these are to obtain alcohol. The advice is that it is alcohol-related crime, which is the number one issue not only in Alice Springs but in so many places in the Northern Territory. The police are working hard. They do have a very high clear-up rate in terms of arrests for those types of offences.
The previous Licensing minister has commissioned a review of the alcohol reforms in Alice Springs and we are waiting to see that come forward, but it does show that there is a cause and effect here. Many of the measures we have put in place have made it much harder for serious habitual drinkers to get access to alcohol. That is leading to break-ins into commercial premises where alcohol is stored, which is tragic for those commercial premises.
I have expressed heartfelt sympathy on radio in Alice Springs, particularly for those community-based organisations and sporting clubs which have had properties broken into. This is a very significant social problem we face in the Northern Territory, which is the abuse of alcohol. It is the abuse of alcohol that is leading to an increased number of break-ins to commercial properties. Police do clear up 85% to 90% of all of those property offences in Alice Springs. The work will continue to reduce alcohol consumption in Alice Springs, which is leading to the type of issues that the member is talking about and what I have responded to.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Braitling for his question. There has been a spike in the number of break-ins to commercial premises in Alice Springs. I have been briefed on that as Police minister, and yes, we will be making some significant announcements tomorrow in regard to the youth crime forums that were held with the member for Macdonnell as the Minister for Indigenous Policy, and local members.
I do not have those specific figures at my fingertips. They are reported on a quarterly basis through the Justice crime statistics. The member will not have to wait too long to get the information that he is asking for, because they will be reported through the quarterly crime statistics. They report four times a year, which is three times more than anywhere else in Australia, and those figures will be provided very soon.
I can advise, from police, that currently, between 85% and 90% of all property offences in Alice Springs result in arrest, and that is a remarkable clear up rate. I can also advise that there are very few residential break-ins occurring at the moment. Most break-ins are in commercial properties and most of these are to obtain alcohol. The advice is that it is alcohol-related crime, which is the number one issue not only in Alice Springs but in so many places in the Northern Territory. The police are working hard. They do have a very high clear-up rate in terms of arrests for those types of offences.
The previous Licensing minister has commissioned a review of the alcohol reforms in Alice Springs and we are waiting to see that come forward, but it does show that there is a cause and effect here. Many of the measures we have put in place have made it much harder for serious habitual drinkers to get access to alcohol. That is leading to break-ins into commercial premises where alcohol is stored, which is tragic for those commercial premises.
I have expressed heartfelt sympathy on radio in Alice Springs, particularly for those community-based organisations and sporting clubs which have had properties broken into. This is a very significant social problem we face in the Northern Territory, which is the abuse of alcohol. It is the abuse of alcohol that is leading to an increased number of break-ins to commercial properties. Police do clear up 85% to 90% of all of those property offences in Alice Springs. The work will continue to reduce alcohol consumption in Alice Springs, which is leading to the type of issues that the member is talking about and what I have responded to.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016