Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Darwin Commander Danny Bacon says despite a year on year increase in break-ins and car thefts, incidents are decreasing month on month

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Darwin Commander Danny Bacon says despite a year on year increase in break-ins and car thefts, incidents are decreasing month on month · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: And joining me in the studio right now because we
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  Speaker 1: know that well. The latest crime statistics are in and
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  Speaker 1: show a thirty seven percent jump in home break ins,
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  Speaker 1: a sixty eight percent jump in business break ins and
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  Speaker 1: forty percent increase in Karthiff's in the Greater Darwin in
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  Speaker 1: the last year to October. Now here to talk further
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  Speaker 1: about this is the commander for Darwin and Road Policing,
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  Speaker 1: Danny Bacon. Good morning to you.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning, Katie, thank you now thanks.
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  Speaker 1: For joining us, Commander. What major changes to the latest
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  Speaker 1: crime statistics show from your perspective.
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  Speaker 2: I think the major changes that are actually being demonstrating
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  Speaker 2: these statistics, and mind you these are statistics from September
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  Speaker 2: to September twenty one to twenty two. But whilst these
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  Speaker 2: numbers are quite high, and particularly in the increase, that's
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  Speaker 2: they're actually decreasing month on month, and I suppose that's
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  Speaker 2: the main thing that we take home from this. Yes,
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  Speaker 2: you did mention commercial break ins by sixty eight percent,
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  Speaker 2: but that's improved by seven percent from the last month,
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  Speaker 2: so and the house break ins again thirty seven but
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  Speaker 2: down improved by two percent, So it's ending in the
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  Speaker 2: right direction. So I'm not having an escalating of crime
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  Speaker 2: within the territory, which is fantastic news from from a
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  Speaker 2: dawn perspective. So those sorts of things where the struggle
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  Speaker 2: was in regards to motive eicle theft, Yes, we went
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  Speaker 2: backward to the motive ecle theft that was up for
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  Speaker 2: one percent, but that was in Darwin. You know, Parmeerson
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  Speaker 2: actually improved by twenty percent and so it's actually only
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  Speaker 2: increased by three percent in Parmesan. So we're getting I
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  Speaker 2: suppose better month on month crime statistics, and a lot
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  Speaker 2: of that is actually a better coordination not just with
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  Speaker 2: us but other service providers.
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  Speaker 1: So I guess it'll be cold comfort, you know to
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  Speaker 1: people who've had their vehicle stolen or their car or
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  Speaker 1: their business broken into. But I wonder as well, with
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  Speaker 1: that increase in the motor vehicle thefts over that period
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  Speaker 1: of time, we had seen that period where there was
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  Speaker 1: a lot of older model toyotas, the land cruisers, that
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  Speaker 1: kind of thing being taken and a few of them
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  Speaker 1: been taken out to remote communities certainly.
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  Speaker 2: Where and that was the trend. As I said, there's
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  Speaker 2: a September statistics and that trend was identified particularly around
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  Speaker 2: the the airport area in those northern suburbs area, so
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  Speaker 2: we expect to see in the month on month that
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  Speaker 2: that would decrease significantly. We're not getting those reports now,
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  Speaker 2: those volumes from that and certainly, as I said, it's
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  Speaker 2: decreasing in the Parmesan area as well, so that's quite
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  Speaker 2: positive itself. You know, the long term trend with property crime,
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  Speaker 2: particularly in Darwen is decreasing over the ten year trend itself.
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  Speaker 2: So it's just about us making sure that we're flexible
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  Speaker 2: and adaptable to respond to these spikes. And really that's
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  Speaker 2: what they are. There's spikes in crime, and you know,
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  Speaker 2: any instant of crime bleed to violent crime or property
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  Speaker 2: crime that happens to individuals witten by an individual is
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  Speaker 2: obviously can be quite traumatic. And I'm not taking away
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  Speaker 2: that traumatization. But what I'm trying to tell your listeners
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  Speaker 2: is that yes there are problem areas and yes there
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  Speaker 2: are crime spikes, but we are getting on top of
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  Speaker 2: that and they are decreasing month on months.
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  Speaker 1: What works happening around the greater Darwin region to try
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  Speaker 1: to really get on top of that, because I know,
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  Speaker 1: like you've pointed out, you know from what you're saying,
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  Speaker 1: we're seeing a decrease month or month, but it's still
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  Speaker 1: a assive increase from what it was the previous year.
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  Speaker 1: What work is happening to try to really minimize that
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  Speaker 1: increase or the crime that we're saying.
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  Speaker 2: In essences when I say it's not a police responsibility.
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  Speaker 2: Community safety is everybody's responsibility. And there's a number of
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  Speaker 2: agencies that are funded both within government and in private
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  Speaker 2: enterprise and non governmentities to work in that space. There
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  Speaker 2: really is, And so what about what's all about? It's
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  Speaker 2: about that working together, that coordination, So everyone working in
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  Speaker 2: that space collectively addressing those hot spots. They're injecting that
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  Speaker 2: they need to inject themselves, and so we can have
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  Speaker 2: that coordinated activity too. Basically either a whole defenders to
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  Speaker 2: account where are they offending, or do a lot of
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  Speaker 2: preventative work so there's less offending in a particular area.
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  Speaker 1: Now, often when we talk about crime stats, we do
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  Speaker 1: see that displacement from communities or certainly that discussion comes up,
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  Speaker 1: are we seeing, you know, are we seeing a lot
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  Speaker 1: of people in town at the moment from communities or
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  Speaker 1: has that changed to some degree as well within the
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  Speaker 1: last months.
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  Speaker 2: I certainly not just in the last month. That's certing
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  Speaker 2: changed in the last seut of six months. In regards
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  Speaker 2: to particularly visitation and particularly people that are sleeping rough
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  Speaker 2: from remote communities. I think it peaked probably in about
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  Speaker 2: April of this year, you know, when we certainly had
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  Speaker 2: up to around three thousand people sleeping rough, which is
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  Speaker 2: quite significant for a city of the size. So at
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  Speaker 2: the moment you're probably looking at between five to five
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  Speaker 2: hundred one thousand people probably sleeping rough. But there's a
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  Speaker 2: number of I said, organizations that are really working in
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  Speaker 2: that space, in housing, Crown Lands, Territory Families, Larochean Nation
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  Speaker 2: Department chief men's ourselves really working with those individuals to
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  Speaker 2: find them better places for safety. There's a lot of
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  Speaker 2: reasons why people sleep rough, some of us not their
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  Speaker 2: own choice, you know, through domestic violence, you know, through
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  Speaker 2: escaping domestic violence, overcrowding of houses, through the white people
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  Speaker 2: that actually wish to live that way.
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  Speaker 1: And it's hard, I suppose because sometimes you know, we
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  Speaker 1: are definitely seeing criminal behavior around the place, but other
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  Speaker 1: times you are literally it's like anti social behavior, which
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  Speaker 1: I guess that you know, if people are yelling and
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  Speaker 1: carrying on outside a shopping center, but they're not necessarily
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  Speaker 1: doing anything criminal. It's hard then for the police to
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  Speaker 1: respond when it should potentially be another agency.
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  Speaker 2: Yes and no, any sort of behavior, any social or otherwise,
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  Speaker 2: is a police response, but there are other service before
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  Speaker 2: is it also work in that particular space as well.
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  Speaker 2: But sometimes people see what they deem in any social
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  Speaker 2: behavior incident was actually a domestic violence incident, you know,
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  Speaker 2: someone being assaulted or beaten up. There's also see perhaps
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  Speaker 2: someone lying on the side of the road was thinking
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  Speaker 2: in the toxica and that's the general go to and
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  Speaker 2: the actually could be injured herd having something in medical episodes.
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  Speaker 2: So there's a range of different reasons that behavior is
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  Speaker 2: happening in our public space. It's about identifying what those
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  Speaker 2: reasons are and then making sure they have appropriate response
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  Speaker 2: to deal with that.
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  Speaker 1: I have noticed as well, you know, when I've been
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  Speaker 1: out at different locations over the last week or so,
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  Speaker 1: that there does seem to be a greater police presence.
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  Speaker 1: Is that something that you as the commanders pushing for
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  Speaker 1: at the moment for more police out on the base.
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  Speaker 2: Certainly our resource numbers haven't changed, but obviously over the
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  Speaker 2: COVID era, or of our normal resources in different areas
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  Speaker 2: were I suppose diverted to the COVID response, although those
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  Speaker 2: resources now have come back to where they're nominally placed.
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  Speaker 2: And it's also making sure that there's more high visibility
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  Speaker 2: in policing, but also that it's not just us working
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  Speaker 2: in that space. And I suppose that's the key message
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  Speaker 2: I want to say. It's not you, it's not just
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  Speaker 2: us working in that area. It is a range of
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  Speaker 2: different organizations, government and non government, and we can't do
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  Speaker 2: it alone and neither can they.
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  Speaker 1: So Commander, before I let you go, is there going
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  Speaker 1: to be some extra sort of programs or you know,
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  Speaker 1: extra you know, different things happening as we lead into Christmas?
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  Speaker 2: Most definitely, and there's a number of I suppose operations
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  Speaker 2: or operational tartans that will transpire over that period, principally
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  Speaker 2: our Christmas campaign. As you're probably be aware, we've had
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  Speaker 2: forty eight lives lost throughout the Northern Territory over this
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  Speaker 2: year to date on the roads. You know, this time
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  Speaker 2: last year we had twenty nine and in total last
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  Speaker 2: year we had thirty five, so it's quite significant lives
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  Speaker 2: lost in our roads themselves, but nominally through the fatal
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  Speaker 2: five you need to speed you're alcohol fatigue and attention.
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  Speaker 2: So you'll see a lot more enforcement activity not just
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  Speaker 2: within Darned across the whole Northern Territory. I'll also work
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  Speaker 2: with our service providers, particularly regards to youth programs and
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  Speaker 2: what that looks like over that school holiday period as well.
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  Speaker 2: We're looking at also making application to the Alcohol Policy
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  Speaker 2: Coordination Unit in regards to making the Caserinea Precinct a
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  Speaker 2: designated area so we could issue for banning notices and
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  Speaker 2: banning drinking orders from that.
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  Speaker 1: Particular location so people can't drink around that Casualina Precinct area.
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  Speaker 2: That's what we're looking at doing ideas to try to
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  Speaker 2: minimize the any social behavior in that particularly as well.
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  Speaker 2: So I said, we'll work with a lot of agencies
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  Speaker 2: to try and strengthen those up. We'll also obviously maximize
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  Speaker 2: our on duty and high visibility patrols not just in
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  Speaker 2: the traffic area, but also through our Strike Force LERA
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  Speaker 2: that looks at our domestic violence but also our Strife
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  Speaker 2: Force Triden as well. It looks our properly offending.
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  Speaker 1: That casual what you're looking at potentially doing at Casuarina.
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  Speaker 1: Does that sort of involve around the shopping center area,
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  Speaker 1: the and the bus interchange and that kind of thing.
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  Speaker 2: There's designated areas across the territory regards to where we
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  Speaker 2: can issue banning notices, certainly the Darwin c b DO,
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  Speaker 2: Catherine Alice Springs, Tennant, Greek and Parlerson as well. We
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  Speaker 2: think the cash mat of precinct probably having get our
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  Speaker 2: statistics there, would warrant such a designated area. So we've
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  Speaker 2: we've made an application of the process of making an applications.
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  Speaker 2: So we hope to have that in place over that
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  Speaker 2: Christmas periods well to assist and it is just one tool,
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  Speaker 2: but it's another tool to sort of hopefully decrease any
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  Speaker 2: social behavior that area.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, be keen to find out if that goes ahead.
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  Speaker 1: Commander Danny Bacon, Darwin and Rhode Policing Commander, thank you
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  Speaker 1: so much for your time this morning.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you, Ca