Comment on 1995-96 Police Service Annual Report

8/11/96

The Western Australian Police Service has done an excellent job over the past four-year period in helping to address and turn around the overall crime rate in this State, according to Police Minister Bob Wiese.

Commenting on the release of the 1995-96 Police Service annual report, Mr Wiese said it was important for the community at large and the hard-working police officers within the police service that all the facts relating to crime fighting in WA were revealed in their proper context.

"The police annual report outlines all the statistics and results of the previous 12-months and overall it is a very positive good news story," he said.

"It is a pity that the Opposition refuse to give credit where credit is due to the Police Service for the major improvements which the police service have achieved in decreasing the overall crime rate - the first time in many years - and increasing their clearance rate of crimes."

Mr Wiese said it was irresponsible and misleading to use isolated statistics in the annual report without highlighting the very encouraging statistics.

"The State Government and the Police Service are maintaining their commitment in the fight against crime through the restructure of the service, positive initiatives and a partnership with the community," he said.

"As the annual reports indicates quite clearly there have been significant achievements and we are continuing to address all areas of crime - particularly crime prevention."

Mr Wiese said major drops in specific crime included:

·       burglary had decreased by more than eight per cent;

·       motor vehicle theft had decreased more than by 17 per cent;

·       homicide had decreased by more than 37 per cent; and -

·       fraud had decreased by nearly 38 per cent.

He said factors contributing towards this drop included:

·       the impact of additional police resources by the State Government;

·       legislative initiatives, such as the Pawnbrokers and Secondhand Dealers' Act;

·       the restructuring of the WA Police Service under the Delta Program;

·       Neighbourhood Watch program;

·       Crime Stoppers; and -

·       positive response by the community to crime prevention.