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Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 1343 asked in the Legislative Council on 25 November 2020 by Hon Robin Scott

Parliament: 40 Session: 1

ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOUR — REGIONAL WESTERN AUSTRALIA

1343. Hon ROBIN SCOTT to the minister representing the Minister for Police:

I refer to an article published today by Erin Parke of ABC Kimberley, the headline of which reads ''Broome car theft spree leaves a trail of torched vehicles with residents, tourists demanding action''. This article comes after 40 cars have been stolen in 30 days. I also refer to my question without notice 1300, which asked whether the minister intended on meeting Broome residents, to which I got a poor response, so I again ask the following.

(1) Can the minister confirm whether she is arranging to meet the shire and the residents of the town to address the issue?

(2) If no to (1), why not?

(3) If yes to (1), when will the meeting be held?

(4) Does the McGowan government have any plans to change its failing policy to address antisocial behaviour in regional towns?

Hon STEPHEN DAWSON replied:

I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question. The following answer has been provided to me by the Minister for Police.

(1)–(4) The Western Australia Police Force advises that senior police will attend the meeting organised by the shire. Broome police continue to target crime hotspots and respond to any reports of suspicious behaviour or crime. This explicitly includes the stealing of motor vehicles as a priority offence. Measures are in place to target suspected offenders and offending, which includes the rollout of new technology. Youth crime issues remain a priority for Broome police and every opportunity is taken to break the cycle of crime committed by young persons, including in partnership with other agencies.

Under the McGowan government, there are 120 more officers in regional WA compared with what there was under the previous Liberal–National government. The McGowan government has also committed, and put funding on budget, to recruit an additional 800 police officers. Ninety-eight of the first 200 of these officers will be deployed to regional WA. The latest police crime statistics, published on the Western Australia Police Force website, show crime in regional WA was down 30.2 per cent on the same quarter last year.