BROOME COMMUNITY SAFETY FORUM
242. Hon NEIL THOMSON to the minister representing the
Minister for Police:
I refer to the community safety
forum held in Broome on the 7 December2020 attended by Hon Ben Wyatt and
representatives from the Western Australia Police Force, the Department of
Communities and the Department of Corrective Services, and over 300 community
members. I also note the escalating social media commentary and concern in the
community regarding property crime and threatening behaviour occurring in
Broome.
(1) What changes
have been implemented since the forum?
(2) Has the
juvenile justice strategy, which was referred to at the forum, been released to
the public?
(3) If no to (2),
when will the strategy be made available to the community?
Hon STEPHEN
DAWSON replied:
I thank
the honourable member for some notice of the question. The following
information has been provided to me by the Minister for Police.
(1) Western Australian police officers are doing an
outstanding job in Broome and should be commended for their work. Last year
crime in Broome was down 8.5 per cent compared with when the opposition was in government. The McGowan government is recruiting
950 extra police officers, or 15 per cent more officers, which is the
largest single increase in police numbers in Western Australia's
history. From this increase to police numbers, already 21 additional police
officers have been allocated to the Kimberley district, including three additional officers to Broome—two youth policing
officers and a district intelligence officer. Additional policing effort
was also committed to Broome through Operation Heat Shield 2 with a focus on
property related crime and high-harm offenders. The Broome police and community
youth centre has also been actively engaging with youth in the Broome
community.
(2)–(3) As the juvenile justice strategy is a Department
of Justice initiative, the honourable member would need to direct these
questions to the Minister for Corrective Services.