Tassie's violent crime dives
MICHELLE PAINE
June 05, 2009 07:00am
VIOLENT crime, sexual assault and armed robbery in Tasmania dropped dramatically last year, new figures show.
No murder, attempted murder or manslaughter was recorded, compared to a total of 13 in 2007 and 10 in 2006, although some crimes that may contribute to these remain unsolved. Only car theft worsened, up from 1405 to 1542.
Police Minister Jim Cox welcomed the news, which he said cemented Tasmania's position as the safest state.
"The dedication and hard work of Tasmania Police, backed by the commitment of the State Government to ensure every Tasmanian is as safe as they possibly can be, has been borne out through this data," Mr Cox said.
"Assault fell almost 8 per cent and sexual assault decreased by 23 per cent."
The Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showed armed robbery dropped by a third after a spike in the previous two years, with 66 last year, 99 in 2007, 91 in 2006 and a low of 43 in 2005.
Criminologists warned that statistics often failed to tell the full story.
Fewer police on the beat, for example, meant fewer convictions.
A drop in young people always dropped the crime rate.
University of Tasmania criminologist Rob White said a police focus on one area of crime inflated figures - for example, the recent focus on domestic violence.
"If you go heavy on certain kinds of crime, the rate looks like it's gone up," Professor White said.
"You have to take care with rates because of the effect of public policy on policing."
An increase in young people sent to conferencing instead of court would also drop offence rates.
Prof White said street crime was largely committed by the 18 to 30 age group.
"If you have a demographic change, with fewer of these people, street crime goes down."
The offence figures show Tasmania had 3749 assaults, down from 4059.
Sexual assault went from 300 in 2006, to 252 in 2007 and 194 last year.
Unlawful entry with intent fell from 9257 to 7410. Unarmed robbery went from 81 to 51.
Tasmania's rate was below the national rate in all areas.
The figures also show manslaughter has not been recorded since 2001.
http://www.themercury.com.au/art ... _tasmania-news.html |
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