Rita Panahi,
March 16, 2017
Herald Sun
CRIME figures released on Thursday confirm what most Victorians know all too well; we are in the middle of a crime wave.
No amount of obfuscation from Premier Daniel Andrews and Police Minister Lisa Neville can change the damning figures.
In the past year there has been a steep rise in the number of violent offences, with murders up 16.4 per cent, attempted murders up 18.6 per cent, and dangerous and negligent acts endangering people up 22.3 per cent.
Assaults and related offences are up 11.8 per cent, assault of police or emergency workers is up 10.8 per cent and sexual offences up 9.2 per cent.
Aggravated burglary offences have soared by 40.6 per cent, car thefts are up by 27 per cent and robberies are up by 24.4 per cent.
There have also been double-digit increases in arson, break and enters, thefts and breaches of orders.
The overall crime rate across the state rose by 10.2 per cent in 2016 with 552,005 offences recorded.
Violent young thugs are running amok with little fear of authorities or the consequences.
In some regional areas the statistics are even grimmer; Benalla (up 36 per cent) Central Goldfields (up 37 per cent) Hepburn (up 54 per cent) and Hindmarsh (up 58 per cent) are among local government areas to have recorded steep increases in the annual crime rate.
The deepening law-and-order crisis has touched every suburb, from the affluent to the disadvantaged.
Even leafy Malvern has seen crime increase by more than 20 per cent last year.
It’s little wonder that more than 90 per cent of respondents to the Herald Sun’sonline poll say they “feel less safe in Victoria”, while less than 2 per cent felt safer and 6 per cent voted “no difference”.
Meanwhile, crime in NSW is falling, with our northern neighbour reducing its crime rate in 12 major categories, including murders, break and enters, shootings and robberies, to the lowest level in 20 years.
NSW has the same societal concerns afflicting Victoria — drug use, poverty, mental health issues — and yet its crime rate is heading in the right direction.
Victoria has become the lawless state.
The supposedly enlightened approach that Victoria has unswervingly adopted is fashionable among academics and activists who are horrified by talk of zero tolerance policing, tougher sentences and higher incarceration rates.
Violent young thugs run amok with little fear of authorities or the consequences, and the interests of victims and the wider community are continually dismissed by a justice system preoccupied with the rights of offenders.
The supposedly enlightened approach that Victoria has unswervingly adopted is fashionable among academics and activists who are horrified by talk of zero tolerance policing, tougher sentences and higher incarceration rates.
But their methods have failed.
It’s time for a new approach.
IF the Coalition wants to win government in 2018 it needs to adopt uncompromising policies on law and order that will make a meaningful difference to how the justice system operates.
New jails, minimum jail terms, increasing police powers and changing the culture of public institutions must be high on the agenda. Jail terms that are in line with community expectation will not happen without mandatory sentencing.
This week we saw a pair of vicious thugs receive ludicrously soft sentences for shooting a young police officer in the face. Rodney Phillips was sentenced to eight years with a non-parole period of six years and two months and Sam Liszczak got a maximum of seven years and 10 months, with a non-parole period of six years.
Their victim, Constable Ben Ashmole, still has 11 gunshot pellets in his head and has been left traumatised by the ordeal.
It’s just another example of a failed system.
Pouring hundreds of millions into hiring more police officers and building new detention centres are positive steps, but that does not address the toxic cultural issues afflicting the various arms of the justice system.
Victoria’s malfunctioning system has long been infected with ideological idiocy.
Premier Andrews is good at mouthing empty platitudes but it’s a different story when it comes to following through with real action.
On Thursday he spoke about crime trends and assured Victorians that the government’s “strong support” of the police was having a “significant impact”.
“We know there was a six- or seven-year trend in terms of crime across our state,” Andrews said.
“That’s why it’s critically important we give to the Chief Commissioner the resources, the tools and powers he needs and that’s what we’re doing.
“In some critical areas, we’re seeing that trend stabilise and in fact get better.”
But under Andrews’ two-year reign crime has skyrocketed by more than 20 per cent in Victoria. Under his watch, aggravated burglaries have soared by 64 per cent and assaults by 31 per cent.
Decisions such as repealing bail laws for young offenders and removing “move on” powers from the police are symbolic of a government soft on crime.
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