Wednesday, 22 March 2023

Ballarat crime

Joe McCRACKEN (Western Victoria) (17:26): (125) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Police, and it relates to the recently released crime statistics in Ballarat. The action that I seek is for the minister to increase resources for Victoria Police so that we can reduce crime and keep our communities in and around Ballarat safe. The top five areas in Ballarat for crime activity were: Ballarat Central on 1664 incidents – slightly up; Wendouree on 1224 – slightly up; Sebastopol on 805 incidents – slightly up; Alfredton on 463 – again slightly up; and Ballarat East, which recorded an ever so slight decrease. Unsolved crimes account for 52 per cent of incidents, which is up from 48 per cent. There were 670 breaches of family violence orders, the third most common criminal incident in the Ballarat area. The central Ballarat area, where the highest proportion of crime is experienced, is where the troubled Bridge Mall is located. Two police officers were assaulted at the bus interchange near Bridge Mall this week.

The Premier visited Ballarat on 4 March this year. He was asked about antisocial and violent behaviour in the Bridge Mall area. His response was:

I’ve seen a bit of commentary from the newly elected upper house Liberal member and you know at the end of the day you can play politics with these things or you can be focused on supporting community to be safe.

And the way you do that is to support Victoria Police and we’ve provided Victoria Police with record funding, they’ve got record recruits, the best of new equipment, and no one should – least of all very newly elected Liberal MPs – no one should doubt the resolve of Victoria Police to keep the community safe.

I did not think the Premier’s words would come back to bite him that quickly, because nothing seems to be happening – absolutely nothing. So I do hope the Premier’s words are actually genuine, and I hope that in this next state budget we will see the police minister announce increased resources so that police in Ballarat have the tools to actually fight crime and make sure the community is safe.