Serious crimes in Tasmania increased by more than 10 per cent last year, with the overall crime rate up as well.
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Tasmania Police’s annual report for the last financial year was released on Saturday, outlining the latest figures.
Total crime across the state rose by 9.4 per cent in 2016-17, after a 10.4 per cent drop the previous year.
The 10.6 per cent increase in crimes classified as “serious” followed a 3.3 per cent decrease the year before.
What’s important to remember is that the overall crime rate over the past 17 years has decreased significantly.
- Assistant Commissioner Glenn Frame
Assistant Commissioner Glenn Frame said the whole community needed to play a role in reducing crime.
“Tasmania Police is a key stakeholder in making the community safe and reducing crime, but we can only achieve this by working together,” he said.
“Tasmania is a safe place. We have one of the lowest crime rates in the country, with Tasmania recording the lowest or equal lowest victim rate in the country for the majority of offence categories in 2016, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics released last month.”
Assistant Commissioner Frame said crime rates tended to fluctuate as a result of criminal group trends and the activities of a “small number of high volume offenders”.
“But what’s important to remember is that the overall crime rate over the past 17 years has decreased significantly.”
Tasmania Police cleared 84.2 per cent of last year’s serious crimes, including all all murder cases.
“So while crime is occurring, we’re solving the matters too,” Assistant Commissioner Frame said.
Home burglaries decreased last year by 18.3 per cent statewide, while there was a 33.6 per cent increase in serious drug offenders being charged.
The report also showed a 2.9 per cent decrease in serious road crashes and an 18.9 per cent decrease in fatal crashes, but a 5.5 per cent increase in high-risk traffic offences and a 4.3 per cent increase in speeding offences.