Simon Corbell has announced the tabling of the March 2009 Criminal Justice Statistical Profile.
- “I am very encouraged to see the reduction in the number of criminal cases in several of the major crime categories,” Mr Corbell said.
“The most notable of these was a 22% decrease in sexual offences recorded in the 12 months to March 2009 when compared with the previous 12 months.
“It is timely to remind Canberrans about the recent commencement of new legislation in the ACT that is designed to improve the way the criminal justice system responds to sexual related crimes.
“These reforms are significant for victims of sexual and violent offences”, Mr Corbell said.
Of the remaining major categories of crime recorded;
— Motor vehicle theft and weapons offences saw a decrease in crime of greater than 10%.
— Motor vehicle theft offences decreased in the 12 months to March 2009 by 12.2% in the previous 12 months.
— Weapons offences decreased by 17.1% with 281 offences recorded in the 12 months to March 2009, compared with 339 for the previous 12 months.
“While I am extremely pleased with these results in the 12 months to March 2009 I am concerned that there are still small increases in some offences”, Mr Corbell said.
“Two categories of crime, including assaults and property damage, increased. The most notable of these was a 13.5% increase in assaults compared with the previous 12 months.”
“The ACT Government recognises that there is often a link between assaults and alcohol consumption and is committed to addressing alcohol-related crime and behaviour.
So the tuggy thuggies are going to make it harder to get a drink?