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Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 546 asked in the Legislative Assembly on 16 September 2021 by Dr D.J. Honey

Parliament: 41 Session: 1

POLICE — CRIME STATISTICS

546. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Minister for Police:

I refer to the worst violent crime on record in WA, including more attacks over the last weekend.

Several members interjected.

The SPEAKER: Order, members!

Dr D.J. HONEY: I refer to the worst violent crime on record in WA, including more attacks over the last weekend. Can the minister explain how he expects to get ahead of this violent crime crisis when the total appropriation for the police was cut in this budget in this financial year?

Mr P. PAPALIA replied:

I do not know what state the member is living in, but that is not the Western Australia the member talked about. In answer to a similar question the member asked the last time we sat, I said that Western Australia has experienced a reduction in crime since the peaks under his government. There has been a 22 per cent reduction in crime across the state since the peak in the fiscal year 2015–16 during the time when the member's party was in government. Overall, there have been 65 000 fewer offences; home burglaries are down by 43 per cent; motor vehicle theft is down by 38 per cent; stealing is down by 37.6 per cent; and property damage offences are down by 28 per cent. Offences against the person, which is part of the encompassing category to which the member referred—the member has not referenced a category—are always a concern. Those things happen. As I said the last time I was asked this question, one of the things that has occurred recently is that we have been able to encourage women in particular to report domestic violence like never before, and that is a good thing. We should encourage and applaud the fact that people feel safe, listened to and certain that the police will respond appropriately to what is a serious crime. That is a good thing, so of course the reporting of family and domestic violence is up. Something that I did not refer the member to the last time I spoke to him about this matter is that sexual assault reporting is also up, and for the same reasons. The reporting of sexual assault, particularly by women—they are predominantly women—is being reported now like never before. That is also a good thing. It is terrible that those crimes occur. They are appalling crimes and, rightly, nowadays, thanks to the professionalism of the Western Australia Police Force and the real focus on ensuring that these matters are investigated appropriately with all the necessary resources, there is much more confidence in the community and people are reporting, so that has increased, which has contributed to the numbers the member is referring to.

Individual, random and violent assaults generally increase with the increase in population. During the last couple of years of the former government, we witnessed a decrease in the population. There was a significant exodus from the state because there was not much hope and so people left Western Australia, as opposed to recent times—over the five years to which the member referred—when there has been population growth. The member referred to an increase in violent crime and individual assaults. They are a small part of the category of crimes against the person. They have increased by 3.7 per cent and the population has increased by 3.9 per cent, so it is not surprising that there has been an uplift over time in that type of assault, because it reflects the population increase.