POLICE — CRIME STATISTICS
637. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Minister for Police:
According to official statistics
from the Western Australia Police Force website, there were 46 025 crimes
against the person in Western Australia in
2017 and 53 986 crimes against the person so far in 2022. Can the minister
confirm that these statistics are correct; and how can he explain this
explosion of crime on his watch?
Mr P.
PAPALIA replied:
I thank the member for his question.
I have not yet looked at the
statistics; I am getting a briefing this afternoon about that, because they
come regularly. I regularly get briefings on statistics. One thing that we do
know about statistics is that they are directly related to population. When the
population goes up, crime goes up. That is one of the things that occurs. As
everyone knows, in the last few years during the COVID pandemic, there was an
exceptional increase particularly in crimes related to family and domestic
violence and a lot of concern about increased mental health issues, which have
also resulted in a significant increase in crimes of the nature that the member
is referring to. Specifically, whether that is what has caused it, I cannot
confirm that. I can confirm that the police are better resourced, better
equipped and more capable of dealing with
crime than ever before in the state's history. The equipment
improvements that were made throughout the last term of office and that
continue in recent times have been extraordinary. The new Commissioner of
Police is very focused—as he was in his role as deputy commissioner—on
integrating technology, and using technology
and adapting new technology, to ensure that we can bring together intelligence
with real-time operations. We are getting intelligence to the people on
the ground in a far more rapid and efficient manner than ever before, which
gives them situational awareness so that as they are approaching a difficult
situation, it becomes safer and they are
able to more accurately and effectively assess risk. It also assists crime
solving. I have referred to it here in recent times. We have only to
look at some of the more high-profile incidents that have occurred, even as
recently as this week. The police are bringing to account suspects, people who
have allegedly conducted offences, at a far more rapid rate than ever before.
It is extraordinary. It will only increase and improve in efficiency and speed
as we progress in the future, as some of the
new initiatives that the commissioner is pursuing come to fruition and as we
pass new laws that give police more powers to effectively use those
capabilities. They are doing more than ever before in rapidly solving crimes.
They are doing it really well. I am really proud of what the police are
delivering.