Crime continues to fall across ACT

ACT Policing’s newest quarterly crime statistics reveal a 4.3 per cent drop in crime reports across Canberra over the previous 12 months, with Gungahlin displaying the largest reduction.

The March quarter 2015 statistics released on the ACT Policing CrimeStatistics webpage today reveal that total reports of crime were down 7.1 per cent across the ACT when compared with the same quarter last year (excluding statistics for traffic infringement notices and collisions).

For March quarter 2015, Gungahlin saw the most dramatic reduction (down 22.2 per cent), followed by Woden (down 18.9 per cent), Belconnen (down 12.4 per cent), the Inner South (down 11.8 per cent), the Inner North (down 2.0 per cent) and Tuggeranong (down 0.8 per cent) when compared with the same quarter last year (excluding statistics for traffic infringement notices and collisions)

Only two districts saw an increase; Weston Creek (up 36.7 per cent) and Molonglo. The Molonglo District saw an increase of 18 reports over the quarter and reports will likely continue to increase as the area populates.

Officer in Charge of ACT Policing’s Ministerial Policy and Performance Station Sergeant Jason Kennedy said the statistics continued a downward trend and was good news for Canberra.

“While crime reports will always ebb and flow, it’s encouraging to see that overall crime has been trending down for the past six years. While we’ve seen an increase in Weston Creek and Molonglo this quarter, it is not out of the ordinary due to large population growth in those areas. Overall, crime reports across the ACT are resisting the effects of population growth and staying low. These results support Canberra’s reputation as one of Australia’s safest cities,” Station Sergeant Kennedy said.

Crime types which saw the greatest decline for March quarter 2015 included Sexual Assault (down 23.8 per cent), Robbery (down 21.7 per cent), Other offences against a person (down 20.8 per cent), and Assault (down 12.6 per cent). Reports of Motor Vehicle Theft saw an increase of 25.5 per cent and reports of Property Damage increased by 2.0 per cent.

“These statistics feed into our intelligence-led community policing model and give us an understanding of crime across Canberra, enabling us to respond to ever-changing priorities. While local Intelligence Officers will focus on emerging trends in their area, ACT Policing as a whole remain focused on implementing the Property Crime Reduction Strategy.”

The combined ACT Policing and ACT Government 2012-15 Property Crime Reduction Strategy was implemented in May 2012 and focuses on crime prevention and deterrence of repeat and young offenders.

“Simple preventative measures are proving effective, with the community proactively safeguarding their homes and property to prevent crime and actively reporting suspicious behaviour to Crime Stoppers and police. These simple methods play a significant role in gaining these positive results and the community should be commended.”