POLICE — HATE
CRIMES
462. Hon ALISON XAMON to the minister representing the
Minister for Police:
(1) Does the Western
Australia Police Force currently collect data on the prevalence of assaults
that are suspected LGBTIQ hate crimes?
(2) If yes to (1), what specific
information is collected?
(3) If no to (1),
how can we determine whether LGBTIQ hate crimes represent a systemic problem in
Western Australia?
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)–(3) The
Western Australia Police Force advises that it does not collect specific data
on hate crime trends but understands that hate-based crimes can significantly
impact the victim and the community, and therefore strongly encourages victims
to report all crimes so that they can be investigated with empathy, respect and
fairness.