Crime
Brad BATTIN (Berwick – Leader of the Opposition) (14:41): My question is to the Minister for Police. Minister, the latest Crime Statistics Agency statistics reveal that nearly half of all crimes in Victoria are now going unsolved, with over 290,000 offences in the past year alone where the perpetrator remains unidentified and at large in the community. That is a 42 per cent jump in unsolved crimes in just one year and a 66.7 per cent increase since Labor took office. Minister, how can Victorians have any confidence that they are safe when tens of thousands of criminals are left to walk free and justice is not done under your watch?
Members interjecting.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Eureka, half an hour.
Member for Eureka withdrew from chamber.
Anthony CARBINES (Ivanhoe – Minister for Police, Minister for Community Safety, Minister for Victims, Minister for Racing) (14:42): A $727 million investment in our justice system, announced in this year’s budget, goes further to the investments our government is making to keep the community safe. Some 76,000 arrests made by Victoria Police members in this past year, in the quarter of the stats that have been released today, show again the duties above and beyond that the police deliver every day, with a record number of arrests, holding more people to account than ever before. You can only do that when you invest $4.5 billion in the Victoria Police budget, when you fund 3600 additional police, when you spend $1 billion on capital infrastructure to support Victoria Police members and when you change and reform our remand and bail laws to see a 100 per cent increase in young offenders being remanded who continue to commit crimes in our community and a 31 per cent increase in the remand figures for those adults who continue to commit crime in our community. That is about holding people to account for their crimes. I note that our blackmail offences are down 35 per cent. You might be a little bit interested in that: down 35 per cent – not that you are helping.
Bridget Vallence: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, the minister is debating the question. It was about unsolved crimes.
Mary-Anne Thomas: On the point of order, Deputy Speaker, clearly the Manager of Opposition Business was not listening to the question. The minister on his feet is being entirely relevant to the question.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The minister had been relevant to the question. He might have started straying and will come back. The minister has finished his answer.
Brad BATTIN (Berwick – Leader of the Opposition) (14:44): Minister, the situation is most dire in the most serious categories. Unsolved crimes across Victoria are up by 75 per cent in one year, nearly seven in 10 property and deception offences now go unsolved and unsolved bail breaches and justice offences have exploded by over 1100 per cent since 2015. Does the minister have any specific measures left in his bottom drawer to address Victoria’s law enforcement crisis?
Anthony CARBINES (Ivanhoe – Minister for Police, Minister for Community Safety, Minister for Victims, Minister for Racing) (14:44): I take this opportunity to again thank Victoria Police members for the work they do every day to keep Victorians safe and to ensure that there are a record number of arrests being made – more than ever before in the history of Victoria Police – to keep Victorians safe. I notice that once again those opposite continue to ignore – continue to airbrush from our crime stats – the 10 per cent rise in family violence offences, because Victoria Police continue to hold perpetrators to account in our community in record numbers.
Bridget Vallence: I think it is outrageous to cast aspersions in relation to family violence and how seriously we take that. But the point of order is on relevance, Deputy Speaker. I would ask you to ask the minister to be relevant.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The minister was being relevant to the question asked.
Anthony CARBINES: About 415 specialist family violence investigators do amazing work every day to hold perpetrators to account. The work of our women’s safety package, which is coming together, led by our justice ministers and the member for Eltham, is critical in making sure that we tackle the scourge of family violence in our community. Police officers respond to one family violence incident every 5 minutes. It does not discriminate, and we are going to make sure they continue to have the resources they need to keep people safe.