Crooks and stats: Time for a reality check on crime in Victoria
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Many media commentators are the journalistic equivalent of tent boxers. They have learnt their craft well and understand their audience’s demands: A violent conflict and a simple resolution.
Tent boxers, like media commentators, know how to throw a punch then cover up. Canberra Show, 2013.
Credit:Rohan Thompson
The tent boxer long ago discovered what works. A simple combination of punches - no fancy stuff –left, left, then right. Bang, bang, bang, then cover up and don’t get hurt.
The number of prisoners in custody in Victoria has flatlined, raising questions about the state government’s $1.8 billion jail building and refurbishment program.
Australia has Experienced One of the Most Astonishing Drops in Crime Ever Recorded by Any Country
Feb 8, 2021
The old newsroom adage, “if it bleeds, it leads,” did not apply to Australia recently, as editors covered the front pages with positive headlines about one of the world’s most dramatic drops in crime rates ever reported in a developed nation.
Since 2001, break-ins have fallen by 68%, motor vehicle theft by 70%, robbery by 71%, attempted murder by 70%, and murder rates by 50%, while overall homicide including manslaughter plummeted by 59%.
A comprehensive report in the
Sydney Morning Herald provides the details of the precipitous fall, while also attempting to explain this bettering of society.
It is a lesson Prof Don Weatherburn, one of Australia’s leading experts in crime statistics, is hoping Australian governments will learn.
“The secret to crime control is regulation not punishment,” Weatherburn says. “It’s much easier to control crime by blocking the opportunities for it than it is by scaring the wits out of people who try to offend, or trying to scare the wits out of them.”
Crime rates in Australia have dropped steadily since the 1990s. In 2000, Australia had the highest rate of burglary, assault, sexual assault and robbery in a survey of 25 countries. By 2018, the crime rate had fallen by 60%, with some exceptions. Reports of sexual assault, child sexual assault, child exploitation, internet fraud and identity theft have increased.