Page 2722 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 16 August 2005
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The parklands and pathways of north Belconnen have been the subject of specific targeting by police controls. However, it has been difficulty from the point of view that most of the riders are juvenile and are mobile; they quickly flee from the police. Of course, as Mr Pratt would have it, we would fill a police station with people and then folks would ring up and say, “We want a policeman out here fast.” So the police would get out there within six minutes or so and, guess what, Mr Speaker? These people are on motorcycles and they are going to sit there and wait for the police to arrive, aren’t they! They are going to sit there and just wait for the police to arrive!
Mr Speaker, the police relied on information received from the public and I congratulate those members of the public who contacted Crime Stoppers and gave information—for example, descriptions of the riders, descriptions of the bikes and the time that these events and incidents were happening. What happened, in fact, was that the intelligence-driven policing process then started to predict when these people would appear and I am informed that the police have identified offenders in Spence and Melba and taken appropriate action.
This year, 36 offenders have been identified, charged or cautioned. Four of those have been this month and there were 10 in July. It does not sound to me as though the police are not doing anything, are not applying the right resources. We are talking about significant results here. I would like to thank the residents of the areas in question for their ongoing contact with police and letting them know the descriptions and the like, allowing police to identify those perpetrators. The police and urban services have met to talk about the issues to do with nature reserves and trails and people riding trail bikes on them. Urban services is currently considering erecting barriers in some areas.
Mr Pratt: A long time coming.
MR HARGREAVES: Mr Pratt says that it has been a long time coming. Yes, it certainly has been. For the last 12 months, police have been targeting that area. This year alone 36 offenders have been identified, charged or cautioned. That sounds to me like there has been a result achieved. It does not sound to me as though there is a lack of resources in the area. Mr Pratt could ascertain all of that merely by writing me another letter if he feels he has not been satisfactorily responded to. He does not have to go and make a complete fool of himself in the media.
MR PRATT: I have a supplementary question. Minister, as demonstrated by this issue, why don’t the police currently have the resources to respond to community concerns about this type of community safety issue?
MR HARGREAVES: Mr Speaker, you will have to excuse my mirth. I would have thought that the police response to community concerns and community information in the month of July in apprehending 10 offenders was pretty good. I congratulate the police, I congratulate the process that the police are following and I congratulate the community. In fact, I congratulate the partnership between the police and the community, which is addressing this antisocial behaviour. Mr Speaker, I cannot think off the top of my head of how the person opposite me would actually get a better result. I have no idea. I do not know how we could achieve a better result other than, of course, Mr Pratt’s favourite one of sticking a police officer at the bottom of every driveway.
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