Victorians feel less safe than residents of any other state: Productivity Commission report
VICTORIANS feel less safe than residents of any other state, with alarming figures revealing one in five don’t feel safe at home alone at night. The stats highlight record concern about crime amid increases in armed robberies, car thefts and break-ins.
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VICTORIANS feel less safe than residents of any other state, with alarming new figures revealing one in five people do not feel safe at home alone at night.
The damning policing statistics highlight record levels of concern about crime amid big increases in the number of armed robberies, car thefts and break-ins.
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A survey of 8100 Victorians found their perception of community safety plummeted last year, with the results worse than any other state and well below the five-year trend.
The data will be released today by the independent Productivity Commission and looms as another political headache for the Andrews Government after a summer marred by youth gang crime.
Just 42.8 per cent of Victorians said they felt safe when walking alone in their neighbourhood at night, and a quarter did not feel safe travelling on public transport at night — more than the number of people who did feel safe.
Nearly 80 per cent of Victorians said they felt safe at home alone at night, but that was 8 per cent down on the year before, and also well below every other state.
Another 11.2 per cent said they felt unsafe at home alone at night, and 9.2 per cent answered “neither”.
More than half of Victorians also said illicit drugs were a problem in their neighbourhood — the highest proportion of any state.
Police Minister Lisa Neville predicted Victorians would start to feel safer as more police hit the beat and high-harm crimes were targeted.
“We’ve had six years of a growing crime rate, including high-harm crimes and those crimes that have touched people in their homes — the burglaries and the thefts,” she said.
“It’s only been the past 12 months that we have seen a significant turn around in that crime rate and those high-harm crimes.
“It does take a while for people to start to feel that.”
Ms Neville added: “Not only do we want to make sure that people are safe in their homes, we want people to feel safe in their homes. It is critical they go together.”
The commission’s data was compiled by the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency, which is run by the state police commissioners.
It also found 70.8 per cent of Victorians were satisfied with the service provided by police, which was a lower mark than in any other state, and down 7 per cent in two years.
The support for Victoria Police’s work rose when the survey only considered those who had dealt with the force in the past year, with 84.4 per cent saying they were satisfied, above the national average.
The commission described the data on perceptions of safety as “an indicator of governments’ objective to contribute to a safe and secure community that enables people to undertake their lawful pursuits confidently and safely”.
The crime rate fell in Victoria for the first time in six years last September, but the commission found there had been significant increases in some offences.
The armed robbery rate soared from 19.5 per 100,000 people to 31.7 in two years. There were 313.5 car thefts per 100,000 people, up from 255.5 and double the rate in New South Wales.
CRIME IN VICTORIA
■ 79.1 per cent feel safe at home alone at night, lower than any other state and down 8 per cent from the year before
■ 42.8 per cent feel safe walking alone in their neighbourhood at night, lower than any other state and the worst level in five years
■ 24.8 per cent feel unsafe on public transport at night, more than any other state
■ 52.8 per cent think illegal drugs are a problem in their neighbourhood, more than any other state
■ 70.8 per cent are satisfied with service provided by police, lower than any other state and the worst level in five years
■ 31.7 armed robberies per 100,000 people, more than any other state
■ 313.5 motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 people, 80 above the national average
■ Average daily prison population is 6853, 6.9 per cent of whom are women
■ Average daily youth justice detention centre population is 103, up from 61 in 2014
■ 18 escapes from youth justice detention centres, with no escapes in any other jurisdiction except the Northern Territory
Source: Productivity Commission’s report on government services
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