Safe and sound: strong results for ACT in new national data


Released 24/01/2019 - Joint media release

  • Attorney-General Gordon Ramsay (Media contact Officer: Anton Gallacher)
  • Minister for Police & Emergency Services, Mick Gentleman (Media contact Officer: James Webber)
  • Minister for Corrections and Justice Health, Minister for Justice, Consumer Affairs and Road Safety, Shane Rattenbury (Media contact Officer: Lisa Wills)

The ACT has ranked highest for feelings of safety at home alone and on public transport at night, and has recorded the least road deaths per 100,000 registered vehicles in today’s release of new chapters from the 2019 Report on Government Services.

Police services

“ACT Policing is valued and trusted by the Canberra community, with Australia’s second-highest rankings for honesty and treating people fairly and equally,” Minister for Police and Emergency Services Mick Gentleman said.

“Ninety two per cent of Canberrans say they feel safe at home alone at night, which is the equal highest result anywhere in the country. The ACT also ranked equal highest on perceptions of safety on public transport at night.

“Our police force is highly representative of our community, with the equal highest percentage of female staff. We are also one of only two states or territories in Australia to record Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander police staff rates above the representation rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the population.”

Road safety

“Once again the ACT has recorded the lowest number of road deaths per 100,000 registered vehicles, and we continue to strive for Vision Zero, where no loss of life on our roads is acceptable,” Minister for Road Safety Shane Rattenbury said.

“However, 2015-16 data shows that we are the second highest in the country for traffic accident hospitalisations at 220 per 100,000 registered vehicles above the national average of 197.

“This shows we can’t always focus on the road toll and must talk about the impact of all crashes on our community.

“All crashes, fatalities and serious injury, are preventable. Road safety is everyone’s responsibility and when we’re on the road we must be alert and aware of the driving conditions and think about the person travelling in front, behind or next to us – they, like you, just want to get home safely.”

Courts

“The ACT Government is modernising our court facilities to help deliver a more timely, transparent, and accessible justice system, which is especially important as Canberra’s population continues to grow,” Attorney-General Gordon Ramsay said.

“More criminal cases are being lodged in our Supreme Court, Magistrates Court and Children’s Court, but we are matching this with an increase in the number of cases we finalise.

“Our appointment of an eighth Magistrate in 2018 will further improve the performance of the ACT Magistrates Court, Children’s Court and Coroners Court.

“Stage 2 of our court upgrades will be completed this year, with a refurbishment of the existing heritage court building and the construction of two court rooms, mediation suites, hearing rooms and spaces for justice support groups.

“These upgrades, as well as the implementation of our new case management system in 2019, are expected to deliver improved benefits to court users in the coming years.”

Corrective services

"We prioritise rehabilitation through employment, education and training in ACT correctional facilities to help detainees get their lives back on track and avoid re-offending when released,” Minister for Corrective Services and Justice Health Shane Rattenbury said.

“Our education and training rates are on the rise, now second-highest in Australia at 77.3 per cent, well above the national average of 34 per cent. That’s up from 70.6 per cent in 2016-17.

“Detainee employment in the ACT is on a steady upward trajectory from 2014-15, at 75.6 per cent in 2017-18, compared to 74.7 per cent the previous year and 71.1 per cent the year before that.

“We are exploring the feasibility of further expanding industries and employment at the Alexander Maconochie Centre to provide detainees with more opportunities to build skills to help them transition back into the community.

“While we continue to proactively manage increased detainee numbers ACT Corrective Services is pleased to see decreases across a number of indicators including assaults in the prison. This is in part due to our work in implementing reforms in response to the Moss Review and our continued commitment to ensure the safety and wellbeing of detainees in our care.

“Since then, we have also invested more than $8.8 million for security related matters at the Alexander Maconochie Centre. This included funding for more CCTV cameras to help provide evidence to assist with the investigation of assaults so that offenders can be held accountable and additional senior staff to manage security, accommodation and offender management.

“Our recidivism rate of 44.2% continues to be below the national average and the Government is continuing to invest in justice solutions to better support people in the community, including Extended Through care, and address the drivers of offending behaviour. The ACT Government is committed to further reductions and will continue to peruse evidenced based crime prevention and socially targeted programs.

“The government is working in partnership with the community to change, reduce and prevent people’s contact with the justice system and help them lead positive lives.”

Fire services

“ACT Fire & Rescue is acknowledged as one of the most multi-skilled fire and rescue services in Australia,” Minister for Police and Emergency Services Mick Gentleman said

“Fire prevention activities are going well in the ACT, with no significant increase in structure fires despite our growing population and increased housing density.

“ACT Fire & Rescue once again boasts the nation’s second fastest response times to structure fires, with above national average results for containing building fires.

“These strong results are a credit to the professionalism of the women and men of ACT Fire & Rescue and the wider ACT Emergency Services Agency.

“The ACT Government is currently recruiting, and will recruit additional firefighters in the 2019/20 financial year.”

- Statement ends -

Gordon Ramsay, MLA | Mick Gentleman, MLA | Shane Rattenbury, MLA | Media Releases

Media Contacts

Name Phone Mobile Email

Anton Gallacher

(02) 6207 3795

0422 574 108

anton.gallacher@act.gov.au

James Webber

(02) 6205 7402

0466 023 084

james.webber@act.gov.au

Lisa Wills

(02) 6205 3897

0481 035 764

Lisa.Wills@act.gov.au


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