Safe and Sound
Building a strong and confident community
A Safer Community Strategy for the City of Glenorchy
Vision To ensure that Glenorchy is a city where people care for each other and act together to improve the lifestyle and environment by building a strong, safe and confident community.
This project was funded and supported by the Glenorchy City Council
______gwenn m u r r a y CONSULTING
by Gwenn Murray with assistance from Janet Wight
A range of data sources were used in compiling this report. Whilst every care has been taken in analysing the data and in compiling this report, the author cannot accept responsibility for any actions taken in reliance on this data.
TABLE OF CONTENTS QUOTES ...... i
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...... ii
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... 1
METHODOLOGY OF THE PROJECT AND SUMMARY ...... 1 PART ONE THE CONTEXT ...... 5
CHAPTER 1 ...... 5
REVIEW OF SOME CRIME PREVENTION AND COMMUNITY SAFETY LITERATURE ...... 5 A. FEAR OF CRIME ...... 5 B CRIME PREVENTION ...... 9 PATHWAYS TO PREVENTION REPORT ...... 10 SHERMAN REPORT ...... 12 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC STRESS, CHILD NEGLECT AND JUVENILE DELINQUENCY ...... 15 FUTURE DIRECTIONS ...... 16 CHAPTER 2 ...... 17
COMMUNITY PROFILE OF GLENORCHY...... 17 DESCRIPTION OF THE DEMOGRAPHIC STATISTICS OF THE CITY OF GLENORCHY ...... 17 FUTURE DIRECTIONS ...... 24 CHAPTER 3 ...... 25
CRIMINAL JUSTICE, LAW AND ORDER ...... 25 CRIME STATISTICS AND TRENDS……………………………………………………………………………………..27 FUTURE DIRECTIONS ...... 36 PART TWO THE STRATEGY ...... 38
CHAPTER 4 ...... 38
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNITY SAFETY IN GLENORCHY ...... 38 CHAPTER 5 ...... 45
GOALS AND PRINCIPLES ...... 45 CHAPTER 6 ...... 46
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNITY SAFETY ...... 46 STAKEHOLDERS AND PARTNERSHIPS ...... 46 ACTION PLAN ...... 49 CHAPTER 7 ...... 59
TARGETED STRATEGIES ...... 59 A. YOUNG PEOPLE…………………………………………………………………………………………………..59 B. STEALING AND BURGLARY - RETAIL AND BUSINESS ...... 61 PART THREE IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION ...... 66
CHAPTER 8 ...... 66
IMPLEMENTATION……………………………………………………………………………………………………66 EVALUATION ...... 67 APPENDIX A - Table of some Protective and Risk Factors from Pathways to Prevention Report..……..……….70
Quotes
It is .....not the fear of crime which is problematic...... fear only becomes a problem when it inhibits people’s wellbeing and restricts their social life. (Australian Institute of Criminology 1992. Crime Prevention Series)
…crime prevention and community safety should be about providing people with half-decent things so that they don’t have to commit crime. (Year 9 student, Cosgrove High School, Glenorchy, 2000)
i
Acknowledgments
This report is the culmination of a number of consultations that occurred in Glenorchy around the development of the Community Plan, Strategic Plan and for this Community Safety Strategy. I should like to acknowledge and thank those who gave freely of their time to discuss their views and experiences about crime prevention and community safety.
It has been a pleasure and a privilege to work with the community of Glenorchy and I should like to acknowledge the strength, courage and wisdom of the people who are proud to live, work or visit in Glenorchy and care about its future. These people demonstrate that it is possible to keep the community strong and safe through caring for one another, working together in partnerships and wanting quality life for the people of Glenorchy.
I should like to thank the Community Development and Participation Manager of the Council, Narelle Calphy, Mayor Terry Martin and the City Council for their assistance and support for this project and for the opportunity to be involved in this important work with the community of Glenorchy.
Gwenn Murray
ii Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Executive Summary Introduction The Glenorchy City Council is a progressive organisation that exists to serve and work with the community in understanding intimately what must be done to meet the community‟s needs. It approaches this philosophy in an open and accountable fashion and by focussing on a two-way partnership with the community. It prides itself on its ability to listen to community representation, and strives to develop innovative and entrepreneurial solutions through good ideas. The Mayor, the Aldermen and the Council of Glenorchy work towards informing the community about issues and listening to their experiences in a response to address them. The development of a crime prevention and community safety strategy is an example of this.
The recent development of the Community Plan prompted the Council to develop a Community Safety Strategy in response to safety issues that were raised during consultations. It is a consolidation of work undertaken since 1992 in response to crime and safety, with further research undertaken concerning crime and justice in Glenorchy.
Methodology of the project and summary The project to develop a Community Safety Strategy was completed in three months and undertook the following methodology.
Literature Contemporary crime prevention and community safety literature from Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States were reviewed and considered in order to understand current theory, causes of crime and programs. That is, what works, what doesn‟t work and what looks promising. This essentially is what was considered in the Sherman Report (1997) which is a culmination of the work of a number of authors in the United States who have conducted longitudinal studies on crime prevention. In Australia, the Pathways to Prevention Report (1999) undertaken by National Crime Prevention, and funded by the Federal Minister for Justice studied developmental and early intervention approaches to crime in Australia. The report describes the importance of balancing “risk factors” with “protective factors” to reduce the possibility of anti-social behaviour.
A further Australian report, Social and Economic Stress, Child Neglect and Juvenile Delinquency (1997) was also considered in the research for the development of this Community Safety Strategy. The report by Weatherburn and Lind is probably the first study of this kind in Australia.
Reports and studies undertaken by the Glenorchy City Council and the results of a number of consultations were considered in order to bring together a wide range of stakeholders views.
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Socio-economic stresses A Community Profile of the City of Glenorchy was developed using statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in order to place community safety in context with the demographic characteristics of the City. This was probably the most revealing as it describes the socio-economic factors of the community. The ABS has ranked areas using the index of relative disadvantage based on 1996 Census data. The index represents a single measure which summarises a number of socio-economic variables.
As a State, Tasmania is relatively disadvantaged. Glenorchy Local Government Authority area is the second most disadvantaged in its region, whilst Hobart and Clarence, with similar urban populations, score higher than Australia as a whole. The socio-economic stresses on Glenorchy are considerable. The Community Safety Strategy has been designed primarily in response to addressing these stresses which are in essence Risk Factors identified in the Pathways to Prevention Report.
Crime data A range of data sources were used to gain information about the occurrence of crime in Glenorchy as compared with other regions and previous years. Available data were analysed from the Police Service of Tasmania, The Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Australian Institute of Criminology.
A limitation of the research was that the available police statistics were not adequate. Police data were by way of reported crime and not by way of gender or age of offender or by outcome of the reported offence, such as charges laid or court outcomes. Data were reviewed generally at a National level. Regional data were then reviewed comparing the three Local Government Authorities of Glenorchy, Clarence and Hobart due to their population size and location, populations were normalised.
The suburbs of the City of Glenorchy were then considered. Selected crime categories were chosen due to the highest number of reported offences. Suburbs for comparison were chosen by where the highest number of reported offences occurred. Populations were normalised and compared.
Of the offence categories analysed, offences of burglary, stealing and unlawful entry with intent are particularly prominent within the Tables and Graphs. During consultations, many people expressed their concern of having their homes broken into, however it was non-dwelling buildings that were victimised. This includes garden sheds, garages and the retail industry. There are some problems concerning stealing from cars and to a lesser extent, stolen motor vehicles. People expressed their fear of being assaulted in public places, again the data do not necessarily show this to be as big a problem as perceived. It is more likely that assaults received the most media attention, thus making it seem to be a problem.
Consultations revealed that some people in the community feel that there are not a lot of venues or events to attend in Glenorchy which would encourage the public to go out in public and socialise more often. Encouraging business to establish more cafes, restaurants and concerts for example could be a means to bring the community together and may also reduce violence and crime in public. The more people around
2 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy would lessen opportunities to break into business, vandalise public property or attack a lone pedestrian for example. Safer and accessible public transport would also encourage the public to go out, each part working together to create a safer and more confident community. Findings and responses The Community Safety Strategy has considered a wide range of matters and has made recommendations for attention in the medium to long term. There are no quick-fix responses to community safety and the Council cannot address these important matters on its own. Recommendations have been made about future directions for the implementation of the Strategy and for monitoring. These include examining the structure of the Community Safety Committee and its terms of reference, re-vamping the position description of the Community Safety Officer and cultivating a network of support for community safety in the City of Glenorchy.
The Community Safety Strategy is made up of two focii. First, a “broad brush” approach to social development of the community and, second, some actions targeted at specific issues.
A. Social development This is based on four Goals and a set of Guiding Principles. The goals are –
1. Support and strengthen all members of the community 2. Reduce violence and crime 3. Building confidence in public space 4. Address offending in ways which are effective for both victims and offenders
The Goals and Principles provide a framework for the “broad brush” approach to social development. Social development is the foundations of a community safety strategy for a strong, confident and cohesive community and in response to the socio- economic stresses currently upon the community of the City of Glenorchy.
The role of Council and its attention to the Goals and Principles, and in the development of partnerships with Federal and State Governments is crucial to the Strategy. Further the collection of adequate data to monitor the safety of the community and the effectiveness of strategies are also vital.
B. Targeted Responses Young people The position of young people, their economic status, and their use of public space is quite central to the crime debate, because public space is often the site for conflict with police, security guards and other adults. During consultations some people were concerned for their young people, realising that young people are portrayed negatively in the media and they were worried about what the future would hold in terms of employment. Other people were harsh and blamed young people for much of the non-serious crime. National data show that a very small minority of young people are involved in crime and mostly in a small proportion of property crime
The Council has recently undertaken an evaluation of its Youth Development Program so it is timely to give further attention to the position of young people in
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Glenorchy, not just because they are the future, but because they are important as citizens right now.
Retail/business Available data have “spot-lighted” a small number of crime categories mentioned previously that need further attention. Data show that the offences of burglary and stealing and unlawful entry with intent, are particularly high regarding the retail industry in Tasmania, with no exception in Glenorchy. There are also statistics that indicate a high level of stealing or burglary regarding non-dwelling buildings such as garden sheds and garages.
Unfortunately available data are not adequate to fully understand the situation. Evidence-based responses are very important, in a response to a perception of crime, a fear of crime, and actual crime. Otherwise, funding for programs and action will not be targeted at problem areas. The Strategy makes a number of recommendations in relation to the retail industry and these particular crimes.
Conclusion Social development, targeted strategies and partnerships It is acknowledged that crime cannot be prevented completely in any community, but with a clear understanding of the situation, an analysis of the problem and the development of partnerships with Council, it is possible to reduce its occurrence and strengthen the community. The findings of the research for this project raise some issues for Council and for the community, not just about the level of crime but about the needs of the City of Glenorchy. It is clear that some of the issues go beyond the control and ability of the Council to address. It will take a whole of Government, Council, and community approach.
Crime prevention and community safety are not just the responsibility of the Police Service and law enforcement agencies. It is the responsibility of the whole of Government and community and is about the social development of a community and the causes of crime. As one of the quotes at the beginning of the report highlights
…crime prevention and community safety should be about providing people with half-decent things so that they don’t have to commit crime. (Year 9 student, Cosgrove High School, Glenorchy, 2000)
Crime prevention is more than alleviating the community‟s fear of crime as ....fear only becomes a problem when it inhibits people’s wellbeing and restricts their social life. (Australian Institute of Criminology. Crime Prevention Series 1992).
One of the over-riding features of the findings of the research for the Community Safety Strategy was the pride and generosity of the community of Glenorchy and their willingness to be involved and to look after each other. They constantly expressed support for and satisfaction with the Mayor and the City Council. The Glenorchy Safe and Sound Community Safety Strategy has been developed in acknowledgment of the strength of the community and its demonstrated ability to work together and care for each other in an effort to make the City of Glenorchy safe and sound.
4 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
PART ONE THE CONTEXT
Chapter 1 Review of Crime Prevention and Community Safety Literature
Background There are two major focii to the issues of community safety - fear of crime and crime prevention. Both topics have increasingly been the subject of research and public debate. It is important in developing an appropriate community safety strategy that attention be given to this body of research. Firstly, because there is little to be gained in expending further resources to discover what others have already found. Secondly, because the strategy must have solid foundations - it cannot be built on just what people think might be important or relevant but on some scientific analysis and data.
A. Fear of crime Fear of crime has become an important issue of public concern, a problem which detracts from the quality of life and which adversely affects social and economic well being...... Fear of crime can be addressed by public policy. Governments may not be able to eliminate crime completely, but they can contribute to its reduction. They can also take steps to reduce public perceptions of insecurity.1
Fear of crime is now regarded as so significant an issue that it is the subject of a major project being undertaken by the National Anti-Crime Strategy, the Criminology Research Council and the Commonwealth Government‟s National Crime Prevention (National Fear of Crime Project). This two stage national project has been designed to look at how Australians perceive and manage fear of crime, especially as it relates to becoming a victim of crime. Stage one has involved a literature review and 3 separate fieldwork studies, including interviewing people in Tasmania. Stage two is to use the findings from stage one and develop practical strategies around managing and reducing fear of crime. Again, one of the pilot projects is in Tasmania. At the time of developing this community safety strategy there were as yet no conclusions from the Fear of Crime Project currently being undertaken in Tasmania that could be included in this report.
This section will refer to the National Fear of Crime Project, since it is contemporaneous and has directly involved Tasmania, but reference is also made to papers published by the Australian Institute of Criminology.2 This research concludes
1Grabosky, P.N. (1995) Fear of Crime and Fear Reduction Strategies Australian Institute of Criminology Trends and issues in crime and criminal justice No. 44 2 (a) Grabosky P.N. ibid; (b) James, M.P (1993) Crime Prevention for Older Australians Australian Institute of Criminology. Crime Prevention Series (c) Media release 1 Dec 1999 Women’s fear of crime Australian Institute of Criminology (d) Australian Institute of Criminology (1995) Reducing Violence, Crime and Fear of Crime in Gay and Lesbian Communities
5 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy that fear of crime is a complex issue. Not everyone is afraid of everything - some are concerned about particular types of offences, some feel more at risk at home rather than out in public, some may perceive there to be a general risk, for others it is a perception of personal risk. People‟s fear of crime varies depending on their personal experience, where they are, the time of day or night and who else is around.
Some conclusions which have been reached are: females tend to be more fearful of crime than are men, particularly being alone at home or of walking alone at night, even though they are less likely to be the victim of a crime than men. The National Fear of Crime Project notes, however, that women learn from an early age about the risks of sexual assault and harassment and are most afraid of these crimes. This fear is rational in the context of lifetime experiences of sexual harassment.
The AIC Paper Women‟s fear of crime found that 70% of women feel unsafe walking alone after dark; those not in the labour force are almost twice as likely to feel unsafe than women who are working, unemployed or looking for work; and that their fear is often not for themselves but for their children or partner. In addition, women who live with their partner, who are not in the labour force and have children under 15 are more than 4 times more likely to fear violence than similar women without a partner.
Older people have a higher concern about crime than other groups in the community. However, both the National Fear of Crime Project and other surveys indicate that this is not necessarily as high as has been thought. The fear probably relates most to property crimes and home invasions. A significant observation from crime prevention surveys in Waverley and Fairfield in New South Wales is that the fear seems to be correlated to a lack of social cohesion or „community spirit‟ and therefore social isolation of the individual. Of interest is the comment (o)lder people are frequently more concerned for young people than of them3.
The issue of social cohesion is not limited to older people. Lack of neighbourhood cohesion, as represented by the feeling that neighbours tend not to help each other, is an important factor associated with fear of crime. Thus, communities with a high turnover of residents or a loss of a major employer may be more fearful.
Young people (as potential victims) have a greater fear of crime than has previously been thought. In particular, they are more fearful of violence, often from other young people. Young women are concerned about sexual assault, frequently being subject to sexual harassment. Violence toward young people often goes unreported and unrecorded, such as domestic violence and bullying at school and in the workplace.
Young people (as potential perpetrators) engender a high fear of crime where they congregate in an „unruly‟ manner. This is possibly related to the National Fear of Crime Project finding that (o)fficial crime statistics do not reflect the
3 See footnote 2(b)
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constant low level incivilities and incidents of harassment which, over time, contribute to a person‟s sense of vulnerability and anxiety about becoming a victim of crime.
Gays and lesbians suffer the most terrifying and most widely feared aspects of violent crime: random and unpredictable attacks which can be of homicidal intensity.4 It has been found that in a twelve month period, gays were 4 times more likely to be assaulted than men generally and lesbians 6 times more likely than other women. Essentially these crimes are the result of prejudice and intolerance. Many are not reported because the victims do not believe that the police will be able or willing to assist.
Victims of crime: having been a victim or knowing someone within one‟s personal circle who has, has an impact on fear of crime. Women who have experienced violence are more fearful of crime than women who have not been subjected to violence. However, the 1989 International Crime Victims Survey found that whilst Australians who were the subject of assault were no more fearful of being at home alone than non-victims, being the subject of mugging, burglary, car theft and obscene telephone calls tended to make people significantly more fearful.
The media is often viewed as encouraging unjustified fear of crime. Due to a significant interest in crime issues by the general public, there is frequent reporting of crimes and associated court cases by the media. Certain crimes and certain offenders can be overdramatised by the media. Frequent news coverage may give the impression of a greater problem than actually exists. Where people are isolated, the media may be the person‟s only real contact with the community.
Again, however, some research, including the National Fear of Crime Project, suggests that the media may not be as influential as may have been thought and that some forms of coverage may increase fear but others may lead to a decrease.
The “broken windows” theory that is, if damage and mess is not dealt with as it happens, there is a sense of neglect and disrepair which makes people feel unsafe and may encourage further damage and mess. (This should not be confused with zero tolerance policing which has shown to be ineffective as a crime prevention tool and only brings people into the criminal justice system.)
Public transport was found by the National Fear of Crime Project to be the greatest source of fear for most people, particularly late at night, and where staff were not visible. Young people and their parents have concerns about young people‟s safety on public transport.
Strangers: there is a general fear about „unpredictable strangers‟, especially in public places at night. Some responses to the issues Having identified some of the issues, the AIC papers consider some solutions. (The National Fear of Crime Project is currently looking at strategies as stage two.) It is
4 See footnote 2(d)
7 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy always important when considering strategies to decrease fear, to ensure that the reverse is not the actual result. For example, a proposal to replace the front door locks of all the elderly in a particular neighbourhood could simply make the elderly fear that there is a problem in that neighbourhood and be more fearful of a break in.
Community education Provide people with accurate and non-sensationalist information about what is actually happening in their area so that people are not unnecessarily alarmed but are encouraged to take sensible precautions. It is .....not the fear of crime which is problematic...... fear only becomes a problem when it inhibits people‟s wellbeing and restricts their social life.5
Social cohesion Promote a positive picture of the local community;
Encourage programs which build and maintain relationships between people or groups of people, for example, whilst there is no evidence that Neighbourhood Watch is effective in reducing crime, it provides an opportunity for neighbours to work together and a sense that people are watching out for each other;
Building relationships and understanding between older and younger people is important - what seems „unruly‟ to one may simply be „fun‟ to someone else. Promote positive pictures of ageing and youth;
Promote tolerance and the unacceptability of harassment and violence, for example, of gays and lesbians.
Environment Provide suitable recreational settings and opportunities and support services for young people, the homeless, those with mental health issues, and so on, rather than taking a more „policing‟ style approach which may only move the problems on. Ensure that the streets are clean, remove graffiti and pick up rubbish for example.
Look at the environmental design of car parks, subways and similar areas and the need for proper lighting.
Policing Simply increasing the number and/or visibility of police is not guaranteed to lead to a reduction in the level of crime. It may, however, create more confidence in the community. The targeting of police to areas where there are particular crimes or fear of crime issues may be more successful.
Developing monitoring and review systems for accountability in the Police Service and to encourage prevention strategies initiated by individual officers.
5 See footnote 2(b)
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B Crime prevention It is proposed in this section to consider in particular three significant works in relation to crime prevention and community safety of the last few years: an Australian report by National Crime Prevention, Pathways to Prevention: Developmental and Early Intervention Approaches to Crime in Australia.6;and a United States report Preventing Crime: What works, what doesn’t, what’s promising, often referred to as The Sherman Report 7; a further Australian report Social and Economic stress, child neglect and juvenile delinquency8 by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics.
The first two reports are a culmination of contributions by experts with different focii or from different disciplines and contain extensive literature reviews. It is therefore fair to say that they approach the topic from a variety of interrelated perspectives with reference to much that has already been written and researched. The third report is probably the first of its kind in Australia.
What is crime prevention? The Sherman Report observes that crime prevention is about consequences, not intentions, that is, it is about looking at the number of criminal events and the number of offenders, or, alternatively, at the amount of harm and the number of victims. In the same way that science and scientific data has been used in the prevention of disease or injury, it is possible through scientific data collection and analysis to find out what action(s) may be effective in the prevention of crime. The question of cost effectiveness also supports a more scientific approach. If significant amounts of money from the public purse are to be invested, then it is useful to know which programs may provide more or better results for the amount invested.
Therefore, a definition of crime prevention is any policy which causes fewer crimes to occur than would have occurred without that policy and which achieves a reduction of risk factors for crime and increases in protective factors9.
Risk and protective factors Pathways to prevention tells us that risk factors are those that increase the likelihood of an offence occurring or being repeated...... They cover, for example, characteristics of the individual (eg impulsivity or an „oppositional identity‟), the family (eg weak parental monitoring), the immediate community (eg few long term residents), or the services available (eg few, or poorly co-ordinated services).
Protective factors are those that reduce the impact of an unavoidable negative event, help individuals avoid or resist temptations to break the law, reduce the chances that
6 National Crime Prevention (1999) Pathways to Prevention: Developmental and early intervention approaches to crime in Australia. National Crime Prevention, Attorney-General‟s Department: Canberra 7University of Maryland (1997) Preventing Crime: what works, what doesn’t, what’s promising. Office of Justice Programs Research Report. US Department of Justice. 8 Weatherburn d and Lind B (1997) Social and Economic Stress, Child Neglect and Juvenile Delinquency NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics, Attorney General‟s Department 9 Sherman Report ibid
9 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy people will start on a path likely to lead to breaches of the law, and/or promote an alternate pathway. The notion of pathways is considered further below.
At Appendix A is a copy of a table from Pathways to Prevention summarising the risk and protective factors. It is important to be aware that risk factors are not the same as indicators. That is, because a person has a characteristic identified as a risk factor does not mean that they will become an offender. The presence of protective factors, for example, would mitigate this.
Crime prevention approaches There are currently four recognised approaches to crime prevention:
Criminal justice – This is the response by courts, police and Corrective Services which focus on deterrence, incapacitation (detention/jail) and rehabilitation. This may also include community service orders and community conferences. Situational - considers a specific physical environment and how it might be designed, altered or managed so as to reduce the opportunity for crime. This would include better lighting, anti theft devices in cars, locks or grilles or Close Circuit Television. It may also include identified situational approaches such as Police Beats, Neighbourhood Watch, Safety Houses, property identification, and graffiti removal. Community – These approaches consider the involvement of Government and community agencies addressing the social and organisational factors linked with crime. For example domestic violence services, harm minimising schemes, urban renewal, and community sports for young people at risk. Developmental - considers what the risk factors are which would increase the possibility of a person offending and what protective factors are needed to reduce the possibility. For example home visitation programs, anti-bullying and life education programs in schools and programs which respond to child abuse that assist those children who are at risk of offending.
“Pathways to Prevention” The Pathways Report focusses on the last of these. It notes that (d)evelopmental approaches do not see life as marked by one steady march toward adulthood that is set early in life...... instead, what occurs is a series of phases, a series of points of change, a series of transitions. These phases and transition points are where intervention can occur most effectively.
There are many transition points in life - moving from home to school, going on to secondary school, leaving home, joining the work force, changing jobs and so on. A variety of outcomes is possible at each point. The move to secondary school may be smooth or be such that the student decides not to stay, for example. Therefore a pathway is a road through life that can go in a number of different directions. Some of those pathways may lead to offending behaviour. Where intervention is needed, the emphasis is on it being „early‟, which means not necessarily early in life - a person may not experience difficulties as a small child - but early on that particular path.
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How a person responds at a particular transition point on the pathway will also depend on what has happened to them previously, how they dealt with these circumstances and how successfully. If they coped well, they may have gained good skills to meet the latest difficulty. If they did not, this current problem may have a cumulative effect. Therefore risk factors and protective factors can be cumulative, that is build on each other.
However, this approach does not deny the significance of the social context in which the person is operating. If a person has a supportive family and/or good friends, then transition points can be negotiated more easily. Neither the problems nor the solutions are seen as belonging solely to the individual.
It also recognises that a mix of all four approaches (discussed above) is necessary for a crime prevention policy, plan or strategy (but not necessarily in one program). The general need for a mix is based on the argument - basic to development theory - that acts of crime stem from both characteristics of people (eg their susceptibility or resistance to the attraction of acting in ways that break the law) and the nature of their circumstances (eg the ease of the criminal acts, the availability of support for taking alternate paths). The goal of change is then to alter people, circumstances, or the combinations of both that make crime more or less likely to occur.
This mixed approach can also be achieved through co-ordination or partnerships of stakeholders and also by identifying possible crime prevention outcomes through policies or practices apparently aimed to achieve other results such as at school or on public transport.
The Pathways to Prevention Report considers the next stage to be the designing of a local community based demonstration project. It would aim to target:
multiple risk and protective factors at multiple levels (the individual, the family, the immediate social group and the larger community) at multiple life phases and transition points in an individual‟s development.
This necessarily entails a whole of community intervention model that incorporates a range of programs and services, rather than intervention built around a single program. It also entails a process of „community building‟ that helps to create an inclusive, „child friendly‟ or family supportive environment that promotes the normal, prosocial development of children.
The Report therefore contains an extensive list of people and agencies who could be involved from parents, neighbours and friends through to schools, housing and health services (including pre-natal care, mental health, drug and alcohol), community welfare department, non-government agencies, police, justice system, employers and trade unions, media, tertiary institutions and child care services.
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“The Sherman Report” For this report, the researchers were asked to look at the effectiveness of programs in preventing crime, particularly youth violence; reducing risk factors for juvenile violence including in the community, at school and within the family; and increasing protective factors against crime and delinquency.
They found that crime prevention can happen around:
* Communities * Families * Schools * Labor Markets * Places (specific premises) * Police * Criminal Justice
These institutions appear to be "interdependent" so that for crime prevention to be successful in one area, this must be supported in others. For example: Schools cannot succeed without supportive families, families cannot succeed without supportive labor markets, labour markets cannot succeed without well-policed safe streets, and police cannot succeed without community participation in the labor market.
These and other examples are an extension of the "conditional deterrence" theory in criminology, that is, claims that legal punishment and the threat of punishment can only be effective in preventing crime if reinforced by the informal social controls of other institutions.
Each of these institutions and their co-relationship to each other is discussed below.
Communities and crime prevention10 Sherman notes that (c)ommunities are the central institution for crime prevention, the stage on which all other institutions perform. Families, schools, labor markets, retail establishments, police and corrections must all confront the consequences of community life. Much of the success or failure of these other institutions is affected by the community context in which they operate.
Crime prevention programs in this context are usually centred around the local community being enabled to develop the appropriate strategies. Sherman warns that (t)he scientific literature shows that the policies and market forces causing criminogenic community structures and cultures are beyond the control of neighbourhood residents and that “empowerment” does not include the power to change those policies.
Those communities most in need may be the least able to mobilize.
10 Chapter 3 - Lawrence W Sherman
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Family based crime prevention11 Family risk factors have a major effect on crime. Family based crime prevention can directly address those risk factors with substantial success. The more risk factors they address, perhaps the better. The earlier they start in life, it seems, the better.
An improvement in parenting skills, children‟s educational skills or mental health have been shown coincidentally to have lead to a reduction in crime. Home visit programmes have resulted in less child abuse, a risk factor for the child‟s future involvement in offending. Identifying and dealing with family violence in general is also important. Day care and pre-school centres can provide significant opportunities for family based crime prevention activities.
Targeting is a difficult question. Should the program be universal or focussed and, if focussed, selective or indicated? Some countries, for example, insist that a newborn child must be visited in the home by a trained nurse. Alternatively, visits could be restricted to those considered to be at high risk or to those who have actually been identified to prevent a recurrence. Whilst generally it is suggested that resources should be focussed where the risks are greatest, this may not be helpful with families who may resent the implications of such action.
School based crime prevention12 Schools have great potential as a locus for crime prevention. They provide regular access to students throughout the developmental years and perhaps the only consistent access to large numbers of the most crime prone children in the early years.
Schools and school related issues may contribute to laying the foundations for future offending behaviour - through the characteristics or culture of the school as a whole or the classroom in particular; the child‟s experiences in and attitudes to school; and their experiences with their peer group. The degree of school order or disorder mirrors the local population and community contexts.
School based intervention is often addressed at particular issues such as violence, drug use, anti-social behaviour, etc., but can have a crime prevention outcome.
Labor markets and crime risk factors13 The data indicates that offenders tend to be either unemployed or not participating in the work force. There are four major hypotheses for this: economic choice - but not all crime produces an income; control theory - employment provides informal social control; strain theory - inequalities and other problems lead to offending out of frustration; labelling theory - a person or community becomes stigmatised as a result of offending behaviour which then leads to a denial of future opportunities.
In addition, offenders often do not have the appropriate skills to get a job and then keep it.
11 Chapter 4 - Lawrence W Sherman 12 Chapter 5 - Denise C. Gottfredson 13 Chapter 6 - Shawn Bushway & Peter Reuter
13 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Crime and employment issues need to be addressed at the same time, but it can be a „chicken or egg‟ situation. To attract possible employers or investors, there needs to be a reduction in crime. However, to achieve this reduction, it may be necessary to provide more job opportunities.
Situational - preventing crime at places14 Most places have little crime and most crime is highly concentrated in and around a relatively small number of places. If crime can be prevented at these high crime places, then crime maybe reduced significantly.
Data indicate that whilst some convenience stores or homes have few or no robberies, a few have many. US research has lead to an estimate that:
10% of victims are involved in 40% of victimisations; 10% of offenders are involved in at least 50% of crimes; 10% of places account for 60% of the crime sites.
Situational crime prevention is often focussed on blocking criminal opportunities, that is, making crime more difficult or risky or less rewarding.
One concern with respect to situational crime prevention is that it can simply move the problem on (displacement) to a different place, time, target or type of crime. However, this is based on the assumption that the potential offender will commit a crime, come what may. Research indicates that often, through proper planning no displacement occurs and, indeed, that there may be some flow on benefits (diffusion).
Policing for crime prevention15 Community policing without a clear focus on crime risk factors generally shows no effect on crime. Similarly, just increasing police numbers does not of itself prevent crime. Patrols need to be directed to specific hot spots at specific times, for example.
One of the most striking recent findings is the extent to which the police themselves create a risk factor for crime simply by using bad manners. It would seem that the less respectful police officers are, the less people comply with the law. Thus, how people are policed is significant.
Criminal justice and crime prevention16 A broader definition of crime prevention can include any setting that reduces crime in the community. Therefore programs in the courts and corrections that focus on reducing the criminal activities of offenders can also be regarded as having a crime prevention aim.
There are 6 main categories of action/activity: deterrence – the threat of jail used to deter would be offenders or punishment aimed at dissuading the individual or others from breaking the law (again); incapacitation - detention/jail prevents the person from offending;
14 Chapter 7 - John E. Ecke 15 Chapter 8 - Lawrence W. Sherman 16 Chapter 9 - Doris Layton MacKenzie
14 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
rehabilitation - change the offender‟s behaviour; community restraints - supervision of the offender in some way to reduce the opportunity or ability to break the law; structure, discipline and challenge - physically and/or mentally stressful activity to change offender‟s behaviour; rehabilitation and restraint combined.
Cost effectiveness is an important consideration.
“Social and economic stress, child neglect and juvenile delinquency” Recorded rates of most crimes are higher in economically and socially disadvantaged areas. Traditionally, it has been hypothesised that this economic and social disadvantage increases the motivation to commit crime. However, the authors of this report considered that this was not a satisfactory explanation. For example, crime rates do not necessarily go up and down as unemployment goes up and down and it is not clear why economic and social disadvantage would affect crimes such as assault.
Studies of individual families have tended to show that such disadvantage increases the risk of child neglect or poor parenting. Research has further shown that these characteristics increase the risk of juvenile offending. The authors of this report wanted to see whether this correlation was sustainable at an aggregate, not simply an individual, level.
The report, therefore, first considers the research which links economic and social stress and parental neglect or abuse of children and that which links neglect and offending. Second, it goes on to consider the social and economic disadvantage, reported rates of child abuse and neglect and reported rates of juvenile participation in crime across New South Wales. It tests the following four hypotheses and finds them strongly supported in an urban environment:
There is a positive relationship between the level of social and economic stress in an area and its level of juvenile participation in crime; There is a positive relationship between the level of social and economic stress in an area and its rates of child neglect and abuse; The effects of social and economic stress on juvenile participation in crime are mediated mostly through the effects of social and economic stress on rates of child neglect and abuse; The relationship posited in (3) holds up for participation in both property and violent offences.
The measures for social and economic stress were: poverty (the percentage of households with an income under $16000 per annum (or $307 per week)); unemployment (the percentage of unemployed in the labour force); single parent families (the percentage of families with a single parent and dependent offspring) residential stability (the percentage of families with a different address 5 years earlier); and
15 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
crowded dwellings ( the percentage of dwellings with more than 1.5 residents per room).
It found overall that poverty, single parent families and crowded dwellings affected the rate of juvenile offending mainly by increasing the rate of child neglect.
The authors therefore suggest that in terms of crime prevention, the (long term) goal is to reduce the economic and social conditions which encourage child neglect, that is, by reducing the levels of poverty and unemployment, providing and improving the social supports for those subject to poverty and unemployment and recognising the importance of early intervention programs for families and children, such as those which assist with parenting skills.
Future directions The review of this literature indicates that a number of issues and directions should be considered in the development of a Community Safety Strategy for Glenorchy, such as the following-
it must respond to the Glenorchy situation and therefore to data which profiles the characteristics of Glenorchy as a whole and its individual areas, as well as data on the fear of crime and crime and safety issues relevant to the City; there is information which can inform the Glenorchy experience so that it does not need to „reinvent the wheel‟ or repeat mistakes. a mix of approaches to community safety is needed; some actions will be about addressing offending patterns in the future, while others will be about addressing specific current issues; the community is an important participant but cannot deal with community safety alone. It needs to form partnerships with those who have control over resources and policy in order to influence their allocation and direction accordingly. whilst institutions such as police and education are the responsibility of the State Government, partnerships can also be made at a local level with local schools and the officers at local police stations and so on.
16 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Chapter 2 Community Profile of Glenorchy17 Glenorchy is the fourth largest City in Tasmania. It lies on the west bank of the Derwent River, north of Hobart. Mount Wellington and the Derwent River are dominant physical features. Covering 12,000 hectares, the City has both urban and semi rural settings but is classified by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as „urban‟.
Description of the demographic statistics of the City of Glenorchy Two tables follow. The first table is based on data from the 1996 Census. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has data for Australia and Tasmania. It then divides Tasmania into four Statistical Divisions, one of which is the Greater Hobart Statistical Division (GHSD). The Statistical Divisions are generally then further divided into Statistical subdivisions. However, in the case of the Greater Hobart Statistical Sub Division (GHSSD), this is identical to the GHSD. The sub divisions are broken down into Statistical Local Areas (SLA), such as Glenorchy. The ABS data can be further analysed to the component parts of the City of Glenorchy. The data used in this report relating to these areas of the City have been taken from a community profile put together for Council.
The second table is derived from a Tasmanian Department of Health and Human Services Paper Community Profile Southern Region.18 The data in the Paper is taken from a number of ABS sources and Department of Social Security (sic) (now Centre Link) client data.
However, in this Paper, Tasmania was divided slightly differently and the data collated mainly on a Local Government Area (LGA) basis. For the purposes of this Report, Glenorchy LGA has been compared with the LGAs of Clarence, Hobart, Kingborough, Derwent Valley, Brighton, and Sorrell, as those which are generally part of the GHSSD even though the LGAs and SLAs do not match exactly (the rural parts of the LGAs of Kingborough, Derwent Valley and Sorrell are separate SLAs). It should be noted that Glenorchy LGA does match Glenorchy SLA.
The tables therefore provide an overview of the people who live within the City of Glenorchy and the degree to which they reflect the nature of the population of the Greater Hobart Statistical Sub Division (Greater Hobart SSD), Tasmania and Australia.
The following information provides some further description of the demographics of Glenorchy.
17 The information used in this section is based on data obtained from the ABS website and a collation of 1996 Census material on Glenorchy supplied by the City Council. The data does not match perfectly in places but is sufficient to give a general picture of the composition of the City and its inhabitants. 18 Health And Wellbeing Outcomes Unit (1999) Community Profile Southern Region Tasmanian Department of Health and Human Services Information Series, Paper No. 2 March 1999
17 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Population Australia‟s population grew by 6.2% between the 1991 census and the 1996 census. Tasmania recorded an increase of 1.5%. The City of Glenorchy grew by about 2%.
Gender The 1996 census counted more females than males in Australia - 50.5% compared with 49.5%. Tasmania recorded 50.8 females compared to 49.2% and the Greater Hobart SD showed the same pattern. The City of Glenorchy had a higher proportion of females at 51.8%. All areas within the City recorded more females than males except for Collinsvale where there were 92 females to every 100 males.
Age In 1996 all States and Territories showed increases in median ages of one to two years. The highest median age was 35 years in South Australia. Overall, Australia‟s median age increased by two years, from 32 to 34 years, since the 1991 census. This was replicated almost exactly in Tasmania. The Greater Hobart SSD median age was also 34, but the City of Glenorchy was higher at 35.1 years.
The youngest area was Collinsvale with a median age of only 30.7 years followed by Collinsvale. Austins Ferry was generally younger with a median age of 32 years having proportionately more people in all age groups up to 50 years of age than the City of Glenorchy. The areas with the highest medians for age were Montrose (44.8 years), Derwent Park, Rosetta and Berriedale.
South Australia had the highest proportion of people aged 65 and over at 13.8% and in Queensland and Victoria this age group represented 12%. In the Greater Hobart SSD, 14.1% of people were 65 or over. The Glenorchy LGA had the highest proportion (15%) of this age group of the region‟s Local Government Authorities.
Indigenous There was a greater increase in the number of people identifying as indigenous in Tasmania than in Australia as a whole. Of capital city SD, Greater Hobart SD had the second highest proportion of people identifying as indigenous (2.5%) after Darwin (8.6%). The number of people indicating an indigenous background is higher in the City of Glenorchy (3.2%) than for the Greater Hobart SSD as a whole.
The area of Goodwood had the highest indication of aboriginality with 7.8%, followed by Derwent Park, and Glenorchy.
Birthplace Across Australia, 26.1% of people counted in the 1996 census were born overseas. Tasmania has never had a significantly high migrant population, with 85.9% being Australian born in 1996. The City of Glenorchy reflected the Tasmanian experience with around 89% Australian born. Similarly, while in Australia overall, 36.2% of those born overseas were from the UK, Ireland or New Zealand, in Tasmania this group represented 57.1%. In the City of Glenorchy 35-45% of people born overseas have traditionally come from the UK.
The highest proportion of overseas born people apart from these groups nationally were from Italy, Vietnam, Greece, China and Germany. In Tasmania, they were from
18 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, USA, South Africa and Malaysia; in the City of Glenorchy from Poland, Italy and Germany. However, people are now arriving from Laos, the Philippines, El Salvador and Thailand.
Households At the 1996 census, 70.6% of Australian households were family households (down from 72.7% in 1991) and 22.1% people living alone (up from 19.3%). In Tasmania the figures were 70.1% (down from 73.3%) and 24% (up from 21.0%).
The average household size fell slightly nationally from 2.8 to 2.7 persons, reflecting the pattern in all Australian States and Territories except Northern Territory. Tasmania had the second lowest of 2.6 after South Australia at 2.5.
Households in the Greater Hobart SSD decreased from 2.79 to 2.53 persons and the City of Glenorchy from 2.75 to 2.45.
The number of people living alone increased across Australia by 26.7% between 1991 and 1996, with a 30% increase in the City of Glenorchy. The LGAs of Hobart and Glenorchy had significantly more single households than Clarence, which is of a similar size. For those living alone in the City of Glenorchy, the median age was 59.9 years and 59% of the group were female.
The median age of those alone in Collinsvale was only 47.5 years. It was also the only area where there were less women (33%) than men living alone. 42.9% of those living alone in each of the areas of Glenorchy and Derwent Park were 70 years or over, compared with the City‟s overall percentage of 33.5%.
Family structure In Australia in 1996, 49.6% (53.7% in 1991) of families were couples with children and in Tasmania 47.9% (down from 52%). The proportion of couple families with dependent children declined nationally from 44.2% to 40.6% between 1991 and 1996 (Tasmania 42.8% to 39.7%), those with non-dependent children from 9.5% to 9.0%. Tasmania recorded the largest decrease in the latter category from 9.2% to 8.2%.
The Glenorchy LGA had the second lowest proportion of families with children (after Hobart). The largest LGAs of Clarence, Hobart and Glenorchy also recorded the smallest proportion of couple families with dependent children.
The area of Collinsvale had the highest percentage of families with children within the City of Glenorchy at 60.8%, followed by Austins Ferry, Rosetta and Claremont. The area of Derwent Park had the lowest proportion at 34.1%, then Montrose, West Moonah and Goodwood.
The proportion of couples without children across Australia rose from 31.6% of all families to 34.1%. This was experienced across Tasmania, rising form 33.0% to 36.0% and in the Greater Hobart SSD from 32.0% to 34.3%. In the City of Glenorchy, this group made up 35.3% of families.
One parent families increased from 12.8% of all families to 14.5% in Australia and from 13.6% to 14.8% in Tasmania. Greater Hobart SSD had a high concentration,
19 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy particularly in the Brighton LGA (23.0%), Hobart LGA (18.1%), Glenorchy LGA (18.9%). One parent families tended to be concentrated in public housing areas or areas with low cost private rentals such as Glenorchy, Claremont and Chigwell.
The area of Austins Ferry had the lowest percentage of one parent families (12.0%), followed by Rosetta, Collinsvale and Montrose. The highest percentages were in Derwent Park (28.0%), Goodwood, East Moonah and Lutana.
Income The median weekly income for individuals 15 and over was $292 nationally and $257 for Tasmania, which had the lowest median income of the States and Territories, followed by South Australia ($267).
The median weekly income in 1996 for the Greater Hobart SSD was $283 and $253 for the City of Glenorchy. Between the 1986 census and the 1996 census, those living in the City of Glenorchy fell behind the average resident of the Greater Hobart SSD in terms of individual income, although Derwent Valley, Brighton and Sorrell LGAs had lower incomes in 1996.
The median family income was $617 per week for the City of Glenorchy, compared with $697 for the Greater Hobart SSD. Overall, Glenorchy had a greater proportion of people with incomes of less than $800 per week and a smaller proportion of people whose incomes were $1000 or more than Greater Hobart SSD as a whole.
The areas of Austins Ferry, Collinsvale, Berriedale and Rosetta had the highest median individual and family incomes between them, whilst Derwent Park, Goodwood, Chigwell and East Moonah recorded the lowest in both.
Homes Ownership Tasmania had among the highest levels of home ownership in 1996 at 42.4 % after Victoria (43.7%) and NSW (42.5%). The Greater Hobart SSD recorded 40.2% owned dwellings, and for the City of Glenorchy, this was 40.4% (up from 37.6% in 1991). Montrose had the highest proportion of owned dwellings in the city (53.2%), followed by Rosetta, Berriedale and Claremont. Those with the fewest were Chigwell, Goodwood, Claremont and Glenorchy.
Purchasing In 1996, 27% of Tasmanian homes were being purchased compared with 34.5% in ACT, 29.8% in WA, 22.5% in Queensland and 18% in NT. However, there was little change in Tasmania between 1991 and 1996 and Queensland and NT recorded the largest increases in the number of homes being purchased.
In the Greater Hobart SSD 30.3% of dwellings were being purchased and 29.3% (down from 32.0% in 1991) in the City of Glenorchy. Collinsvale had the highest percentage of dwellings being purchased (47.6%), followed by Austins Ferry, Claremont and Chigwell whilst Montrose (20.3%), Derwent Park, West Moonah and Lutana were the lowest purchasing areas.
20 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Renting The proportion of dwellings being rented in the Greater Hobart SSD in 1996 was 27.8% and in the City of Glenorchy, 29.0% (up from 26.3%). The area of Collinsvale had the lowest rental at only 6.9%, then Austins Ferry (15.2%), Berriedale and Rosetta. Goodwood had the highest rentals at 40.9%, followed by Derwent Park, Glenorchy and Chigwell.
The median rent in Australia was $123 per week, but rents varied around the country. The lowest median rents were in Tasmania and South Australia at $90 per week, with the highest in ACT ($150) and NSW ($140). With respect to capital cities, the highest rental medians were $165 in Sydney SD and $150 in Canberra SD, the lowest in the Greater Hobart SD at $100.
Education/Qualifications Six percent of Australians reported studying at TAFE institutions, university or other tertiary institutions and 5.2% in Tasmania. Nationally, there was an increase in qualifications at all levels over 1991. In Tasmania there was a slight decrease in the numbers of people with basic vocational qualifications.
The City of Glenorchy had a significantly lower percentage of people with degrees and diplomas compared with the Greater Hobart SSD, but slightly more with vocational qualifications.
School retention rates for 16 year olds in 1998 for the Glenorchy LGA were similar to those for Tasmania overall, but both were well behind the Australian rate of 80.2%. LGAs with the highest income had the highest school retention rates. Urban LGAs with low unemployment and high incomes had the greatest proportion of people with degrees or higher.
The area of Austins Ferry had proportionately more people with qualifications (30.9%) then Collinsvale residents. Goodwood had fewer qualified residents (15.2%) then Chigwell, East Moonah and Derwent Park, but Derwent Park had a higher percentage of people with vocational qualifications (16.1%) than the City of Glenorchy overall.
In the City of Glenorchy, the median age for leaving school rose to 16.1 years, but remained lower than that for the Greater Hobart SSD of 16.4 years. Collinsvale had the highest school leaving age of 16.3 years along with West Moonah. Chigwell, Derwent Park and Goodwood had the lowest school leaving age of 15.8 years.
Employment Between 1991 and 1996, Australia‟s labour force increased by 4.9%. However, in Tasmania, along with South Australia, there was a decline. In the Greater Hobart SSD the participation rate was 60.2%, but lower in the City of Glenorchy at 57.2% (down from 59.9% in 1991).
There was a 5.9% increase nationally between 1991 and 1996 in the number of people in full time work, but Tasmania and South Australia recorded decreases. All States and Territories recorded decreases in the proportion of employed people who were in
21 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy full time employment. Tasmania had the lowest proportion at 64.7% with NSW the highest at 68.8%.
Conversely, there was an increase in part time workers from 25.1% to 29.9% of all employed people nationally. In Tasmania the increase was 27.8% to 33.0% and in the City of Glenorchy 24.5% to 29.3%. The Greater Hobart SSD had 30.7% of employees working part time.
The unemployment rate in Australia at the 1996 census was 9.2% overall and 15.7% for 15-24 year olds (a decrease from 11.6% to 9.2% respectively on 1991). Tasmania also showed decreases from 13.5% to 11.0% in general and from 23.3% to 19.6% for 15-24 year olds. The unemployment rate in the Greater Hobart SSD was 9.7% but higher in the City of Glenorchy at 11.0% (down from 12.5% in 1991). The Glenorchy LGA‟s unemployment rate for 15-24 year olds (17.6%) was the lowest of the surrounding LGAs except for Clarence (17.5%)
The area of Austins Ferry had the lowest unemployment rate in the City (4.7%), followed by Berriedale, Collinsvale and Rosetta. The highest unemployment rates were in Goodwood (18.5%) Derwent Park, and East Moonah.
In Australia in 1996, 37.2% of adults were not in the labour force. There were variations around the country ranging from 28.0% in ACT to 40.2% in Tasmania.
The area of Derwent Park had a non-participation rate of 52.5%, followed by Goodwood, Montrose and Chigwell. Collinsvale had the lowest non-participation rate of 26.8% followed by Austins Ferry, Rosetta and Lutana.
Occupations In Australia in 1996 there was an increase across the stated categories over 1991 except for tradespersons and related workers which declined. In Tasmania, the increase in intermediate clerical, sales and service workers was significant - 11.8% to 16.2%.
The Greater Hobart SSD had significant proportions of people as professionals (19.8%)‟ intermediate clerical etc (18.7%) and associate professionals (11.2%). The City of Glenorchy (20.7%) had the highest proportion of people in the intermediate clerical etc. category within the Greater Hobart SSD.
Industries The top four industries nationally in 1996 were: retail trade; manufacturing; property and business services; and health and community services. In Tasmania, these were: retail trade; manufacturing; health and community services; and education.
In the Greater Hobart SSD, the top four industries (categorised slightly differently) were education, health and community services (21.3%); wholesale and retail trade (18.4%); recreation, personal services, cafes, etc. (12.5%); and finance, insurance and business services (12.2%).
22 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
There were significant changes in industry in the City of Glenorchy over the 10 year period 1986-1996 with declines in manufacturing; electricity, gas and water; construction; and communication services; and increases in wholesale and retail trade; finance, insurance and business services; public administration and defence; and education, health and community services. However, there were variations across the City with areas such as Austins Ferry and Berriedale suffering a decline in education, health and community services and Claremont experiencing an increase in manufacturing. A number of areas also saw an increase in recreation, personal services, cafes etc., such as Glenorchy, Austins Ferry and Derwent Park.
Centrelink payments The number of payments reflects the number of low income families, the number of persons of retirement age and rates of unemployment. Glenorchy LGA had the highest proportion of health care card holders in the region and significantly more than Hobart and Clarence.
Index of relative disadvantage The ABS has ranked areas using the index of relative disadvantage based on the 1996 Population Census data. The index represents a single measure, which summarises a number of socio-economic variables derived from Census data, but does not include all social conditions.
Geographic areas with the highest relative disadvantage have high proportions of low income families, high unemployment, low educational qualifications, low skilled occupations, and many households renting public housing. Conversely, the least disadvantaged areas have high proportions of high income earners, more highly qualified people, as well as lower unemployment rates. Areas with high index scores are therefore relatively advantaged, while those with low scores are relatively disadvantaged. On the basis of the 1996 Census data, Tasmania experiences more relative disadvantage with a score of 974 than Australia with a score of 100019.
As a State, Tasmania is relatively disadvantaged. Glenorchy LGA is the second most disadvantaged in its region, scoring 940 whilst nearby Hobart (1135) and Clarence (1006), with similar urban populations, score higher than Australia as a whole.
Looking at the tables, the following figures are of interest in this regard:
Income - the median individual income is $253 per week in Glenorchy, $350 in Hobart, $289 in Clarence and $285 in Kingborough.
Education - the proportion of professionals is 10% in Glenorchy, 32% in Hobart, 17% in Clarence and 23% in Kingborough.
Qualifications - the proportion of people with degrees or higher is 4% in Glenorchy, 21% in Hobart, 8% in Clarence and 13% in Kingborough.
19 Health and Well-being Outcomes Unit (1999) ibid
23 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Unemployment - 11% in Glenorchy, 9% in Hobart, 9% in Clarence and 9.5% in Kingborough.
Centrelink payments - 54% of people in Glenorchy receive welfare payments, 34% in Hobart, 45% in Clarence and 41% in Kingborough, and in particular:
Unemployment benefits - 8.1% of Glenorchy, 7% of Hobart, 6.5% of Clarence and 5.1% of Kingborough
Age pension - 12% of Glenorchy, 8% of Hobart, 9% of Clarence and 8% of Kingborough
Health care card - 28% of Glenorchy, 19% of Hobart, 22% of Clarence and 17% of Kingborough.
Families with children - Glenorchy LGA has the second lowest proportion of couple families with children of LGAs in the State after Hobart and the second highest proportion of one parent families (19%) after Brighton (23%).
Future directions From the research findings contained in this report it is clear that the over-riding consideration for the Glenorchy City Council is the index of relative disadvantage which plays a major part in developing a Community Safety Strategy. This level of disadvantage is quite revealing. There are social and economic stresses on the community which does not allow it to improve its lifestyle. The level of income, education and employment for example, increase the risk factors for offending. The report on Social and Economic Stress, Child Neglect and Juvenile Delinquency by Weaterburn and Lind at the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics, discussed in Chapter 1 indicates a link between social and economic stress, child neglect and offending behaviour.
A Community Safety Strategy therefore needs to take account of the presence of these risk factors and build in as many protective factors for families and individuals as possible to counteract them. In addition, it is clear that the local community and the Council cannot address these issues alone. The Glenorchy City Council needs to establish partnerships with Federal and State Governments in order to address the broad underlying concerns for the Glenorchy community.
24 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Chapter 3 Criminal Justice, Law and Order The Australian Bureau of Statistics, the State based Bureaux of Crime Statistics and the Australian Institute of Criminology are agencies that analyse crime data at State and Federal levels and can compile an aggregate picture for Australia on some crime. As the various jurisdictions compile data differently it is not possible to make comparisons of all crimes. However some general comparisons can be made across the States.
An analysis of recorded crime in Australia is contained in the Australian Bureau of Statistics report (1999)20. From this analysis Tasmania can be compared with other States and Territories. It would seem that there are trends in some areas. For example in the area of burglary to retail and businesses and stealing, in particular from buildings such as garden sheds and garages, and some assaults which will be discussed in this chapter.
Police statistics The Police Services in Australia are governed by Commonwealth, State and Territory laws and are independent of each other. The laws that define crime are also enacted by each legislature and may vary from State to State. Crime statistics in each jurisdiction are affected by the differences in law, the definition of offences and police practice. Each jurisdiction gathers, records and analyses data using different methods, consequently some data are not comparable.
It has been difficult to obtain adequate and reliable data that are specific to Glenorchy. In order to develop a comprehensive crime profile of an area it would be ideal to obtain data by way of offence, gender, age, ethnic and cultural background through reported crime, victim surveys and offender self reporting with an outcome for each matter such as arrest rates and court outcomes. All of this information should be compared with previous years and then compared with other regions after taking into account population and demographics of the region. This is a lengthy process, but systems should have the capacity to record these data.
However, some data have been obtained from the Crime Management Unit (CMU), Tasmanian Police Service which has responsibility for the intelligence information for the whole State and their assistance in this project is acknowledged. Unfortunately the only information that could be obtained from the CMU are reported crimes that are not broken down by age, gender or cultural background and outcome. Consequently limited statistical analysis could be made.
Regional Tasmania The Australian Bureau of Statistics Tasmania Report (1999)21 provides a comprehensive description of Tasmania and its communities and has divided the State into three regions; Mersey-Lyell, Northern and Greater Hobart-Southern. This division is slightly different to the Australian Bureau of Statistics treatment of the
20 Australian Bureau of Statistics (1999)(a) Recorded Crime Australia. 21 Australian Bureau of Statistics (1999)(b) Regional Statistics Tasmania.
25 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy demographic statistics contained in Chapter 2 concerning the community Profile. The City of Glenorchy is situated in the Greater Hobart-Southern region.
Table 3.1 Tasmania by three regions Region Mersey-Lyell Northern Greater Hobart-Southern Land area of the State 33.1% 29.3% 37.6% Population of the State 23.1% 28.2% 48.7% Employment rate since 1994 Up 1.7% Up 2.3% Down 1.5%
Legal Aid The Legal Aid Commission of Tasmania received over 28,000 enquiries on its telephone advice line during 1997-98. The Greater Hobart-Southern Region recorded a rate of 6,700 calls per 100,000 people compared with 5,500 in the Northern region and 4,200 in the Mersey-Lyell region. Females were the most frequent users of the telephone advice service at 61% of the callers.
The most common call received by the telephone advice service related to children‟s matters, followed by property settlement matters.
Victims of crime Young people between 15 and 19 years remain as the group with the highest victimisation rate across Australia. This age group also has the highest victimisation rate for driving causing death, sexual assault, kidnapping/abduction, and robbery. The manslaughter and assault victimisation rates were the highest for the 20-24 year age group, while murder, attempted murder and blackmail/extortion victimisation rates were highest for the 25-34 year age group.
The age at which Australians are at greatest risk of homicide is birth to one year of age.
The Greater Hobart-Southern region has recorded the highest proportion of victims per 100,000 people in the categories of armed and unarmed robbery, motor vehicle theft and theft.
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Table 3.2 Rate of selected offences per 100,000 people by region - 1998
Mersey-Lyell Northern Greater Hobart- Southern Assaults 522 466 452 Motor vehicle theft 180 358 1008 Other theft 2480 2339 3506 UEWI 2179 2876 3530
Crime statistics and trends In order to identify trends in crime and assess the situation in Glenorchy as compared with other regions and the national rate, categories of crime with the highest recording of offences have been selected and discussed under crime category headings. The following Table 3.3 provides the rate of victims in Australia per 100,000 people by offence in reported crime for 1999. The definition of a crime victim varies according to the category of the offence.
Table 3.3 Victims by Offence Category 1999 rate per 100,000 persons Offence Category NSW Vic Qld SA WA Tas NT Act Austral ia Murder 1.92 1.32 1.79 2.61 2.20 1.06 3.63 0.64 1.80 Attempt Murder 2.07 1.21 3.16 2.61 0.43 0.64 2.59 0.64 1.89 Manslaughter 0.19 0.08 0.34 0.07 0.32 0.43 1.04 0.64 1.89 Driving causing death 1.22 0.89 0.88 1.21 1.93 - - 0.32 1.09 Total 5.40 3.50 6.18 6.50 4.89 2.13 7.26 1.61 4.98
Assault 995.23 357.58 525.09 928.35 764.69 544.80 1126.08 539.05 704.52 Sex Assault 69.01 59.19 100.25 88.41 83.45 41.04 95.40 28.69 74.22 Kidnap/Abduct 7.02 2.55 2.68 2.55 2.63 0.64 - 2.90 4.02 Robbery 195.8 72.24 70.21 98.72 113.59 40.19 39.92 100.59 119.12 Blackmail/extort 0.97 1.66 1.99 1.61 0.97 0.43 - 0.64 1.35 UEWI -taking property 1898.21 1283.25 1604.79 1865.82 2011.16 2038.23 1634.68 2046.28 1702.80 -other 456.84 335.43 507.75 409.62 986.83 573.30 849.33 303.38 488.76 Total 2355.05 1618.68 2112.54 2275.44 2997.99 2611.53 2483.90 2349.66 2191.57 MV theft 738.57 680.68 519.62 802.44 685.22 653.04 510.67 1094.55 684.81 Other theft 3120.71 2835.4 2992.18 4160.21 4238.22 2817.58 2972.80 3710.19 3218.14 Source Australian Bureau of Statistics (1999) Recorded Crime.
Assaults Although the number of assault victims in Tasmania is not high as compared with the other States. Tasmania recorded the largest percentage increase per capita in Australia at 15% increase from the previous year followed by New South Wales at 7.8% increase. The number of assault victims in Australia rose by 2.1% from 1998 to 1999.
The sexual assault victimisation rate in 1999 decreased from 77 victims to 74 victims per 100,000 people in Australia. The lowest rates were recorded in the Australian Capital Territory (at 29) and Tasmania (at 41).
27 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Between 1997 and 1998 Tasmania recorded an increase in victims of assault rising from 418 to 472 per 100,000 persons. The Mersey-Lyell region recorded the highest rate in 1998 at 522 per 100,000, followed by the Northern region at 466 and the Greater Hobart-Southern at the lowest rate in the State at 452.
Unlawful entry with intent (UEWI) This category includes burglary and break and enter offences. In Table 3.3 above, the rate of victims of Unlawful Entry With Intent, taking of property is higher in Tasmania than the national average and the second highest state rate in the country. The total number of victims in this category decreased by 4% across Australia from the previous year. Tasmania had the second highest victimisation rate in the country of 2,612 victims per 100,000 people. However, Tasmania recorded the largest percentage decrease in the number of victims during 1999 at 14% less than the previous year. National data have demonstrated Tasmania has the highest proportion of victims of unlawful entry with intent with the highest rate recorded in the Greater Hobart-Southern region.
Two out of three break and enter offences and attempts in Australia occur in residential locations and a vast majority of these occur in homes. However, except in Tasmania, a majority of these offences take place in private residential buildings such as garden sheds and garages. Retail outlets are the most frequent targets of break and enter among non-resident locations.22
Tasmania records the highest proportion of “property” victims (14.5%) of UEWI concerning the retail outlets in the country with the rate for Australia being 8.1% (property) the second highest is South Australia at 11.3%. These statistics are also reflected in the data for the City of Glenorchy under burglary, stealing and trespass (See Table 3.5 and Figure1).
Consultations for the preparation of this report with shop owners and managers, and security officers highlighted a perceived problem of violence and theft within the Glenorchy central business district. Representatives expressed fears of shoplifting, robbery and after hours vandalism to their stores as well as concerns that Insurance companies may refuse to insure businesses due to their repeated claims for damages.
Table 3.4 Victims in Australia of UEWI – Property By retail location where criminal incident occurred
Type of NSW Vic Qld SA WA TAS NT ACT Australia location Retail – Unspecified 3.2 6.3 - - - 0.0 - - 2.4 retail Chemist 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.3 - 0.7 0.3 Service station 0.9 0.7 0.4 0.5 0.5 1.1 0.1 0.4 0.7 Other retail 6.9 5.3 10.8 11.3 8.6 14.5 4.4 10.4 8.1 Source Australian Bureau of Statistics (1999) Recorded Crime.
22 Mukherjee, Carcach, Higgins (1997) A Statistical Profile of Crime in Australia. Australian Institute of Criminology.
28 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Motor vehicle theft With the exception of New South Wales and Western Australia, all States and Territories recorded increases in motor vehicle theft between 1998 and 1999. However, the number of motor vehicle thefts in Australia decreased by 1.3%. Tasmania recorded the second lowest rate of stolen vehicles per capita during 1999. The Australian Capital Territory recorded the largest percentage increase in thefts of vehicles of 40% during this period.
Of the three regions, the Greater Hobart-Southern Region recorded by far the highest victimisation rate of motor vehicle theft in 1997 and 1998 at 771 victims per 100,000 people in 1997 and 1,008 in 1998. By comparison, the Northern Region had a rate of 355 in 1997 and 358 in 1998 and the Mersey-Lyell region‟s rate was 186 in 1997 and 180 in 1998. (See Table 3. 2)
The City of Glenorchy recorded the highest rate of motor vehicle offences per population during 1999-2000 as compared with two other LGA of Hobart and Clarence.
The City of Glenorchy – crime statistics, law and order The City of Glenorchy incorporates an area mass of over 125 square kilometres with a current resident population of about 44,117 (ABS, 1999). The city is made up of 13 precincts which cover 16 suburbs (this includes east and west districts of some suburbs). A description of the city and its communities can be found in the Community Profile in chapter 2.
Overview of selected crime data by region The population of the City of Glenorchy is of a similar size to Hobart (population 46,1502) and Clarence (population 49,158). These three Local Government Authorities are within close proximity. These regions can be directly compared because there are likely to be demographic variations in employment, housing, health, and age for example. However, their population size and proximity provide markers for comparison. In any comparisons between local Government authorities or cities below, the populations have been normalised.
Data were obtained from a range of sources; the Crime Management Unit of the Police Service of Tasmania, the Crime Prevention Council of Tasmania, the Australian Institute of Criminology and the Australian Bureau of Statistics in order to make some comparisons of some offence types.
Focus was placed on offence types with the most activity, that is the highest rate of recorded crime types were compared first by three local Government regions and by suburb over a two year period.
29 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Table 3.5 Number of selected reported offences By Local Govt Authority 1998-99 and 1999-2000
LGA population Clarence (49,158) Hobart (46,502) Glenorchy (44,117) Offence categories 1998-99 1999-2000 1998-99 1999-2000 1998-99 1999-2000 Assaults sexual 16 18 12 7 23 22 other 190 241 201 265 238 291 Burglary 2015 1642 1059 909 2470 2430 Fraud 125 128 382 576 1144 193 Injury to property 628 647 430 376 798 830 Robbery 19 19 25 21 29 31 Shoplifting 89 131 149 212 127 183 Stealing 2532 2153 1824 1505 3119 2886 Stealing MV 517 454 315 269 730 701 Trespass 181 307 34 35 198 424
Table 3.6 Selected reported offences per 100,000 people By Local Govt Authority 1998-99 and 1999-2000
Clarence Hobart Glenorchy 1998-99 1999-2000 1998-99 1999-2000 1998-99 1999-2000 Assaults sexual 32.54811 36.61662 25.80534 15.05312 52.1341 49.8674 other 386.5088 490.2559 432.2395 569.868 539.4746 659.6097 Burglary 4099.028 3340.25 2277.321 1954.755 5598.749 5508.081 Fraud 254.2821 260.3849 821.47 1238.656 2593.105 437.4731 Injury to property 1277.513 1316.164 924.6914 808.5674 1808.827 1881.361 Robbery 38.65088 38.65088 53.76113 45.15935 65.7343 70.2677 Shoplifting 181.0489 266.4877 320.4163 455.8944 287.8709 414.8061 Stealing 5150.738 4379.755 3922.412 3236.42 7069.837 6541.696 Stealing MV 1051.711 923.5526 677.3902 578.4697 1654.691 1588.957 Trespass 368.2005 624.5169 73.11513 75.26558 448.8066 961.0808
30 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Figure 1 Offences by Local Govt Authority Glenorchy, Hobart and Clarence per 100,000 people-1998-1999 and 1999-2000
offences per 100,000 people
8000
7000
6000
5000
number 4000
3000 Clarence 1998-99 2000 Clarence 1999-2000 Hobart 1998-99 1000 Glenorchy 1999-2000 Hobart 1999-2000 Glenorchy 1998-99 0 Hobart 1999-2000 Glenorchy 1999-2000 Clarence 1999-2000
place and year
other sexual
Assaults Fraud
Burglary Robbery
Stealing
Shoplifting Trespass
MV Stealing offence type Injury to property
Table 3.7 Selected reported crime by offence type City of Glenorchy
1998-1999 and 1999-2000
Offence type 1998 –1999 1999 – 2000 Assault – Common (Criminal Code) 6 24 Assault – Common (Police Offences Act 1999) 204 213 Burglary – Aggravated 1022 765 Burglary – Motor vehicle & other conveyance 809 685 Burglary – other buildings 639 980 False pretences/deception 325 115 Forgery 238 31 Fraud 320 2 Injury to property 798 830 Shoplifting 127 183 Stealing from buildings 1512 1363 Stealing from Motor vehicles & other convey (with burglary) 873 594 Stealing general not connected with burglary 873 929 Stealing motor vehicles 727 698 Unlawfully on premises/trespass 198 424 Uttering 243 22
Source: Crime Management Unit, Police Service of Tasmania
31 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Overview of selected crime data – by suburb Focus was then placed on offence types with the most activity, that is the highest rate of reported offences were compared by suburb over a two year period, with selected offence types placed under the “spot light” for a six month period. The suburbs of Glenorchy, Chigwell, Claremont and Moonah (East and West) were selected as these suburbs recorded the highest rates of reported selected crime activity. Table 3.8 shows the number of offences. These data are then normalised per 15,000 people and are shown in Table 3.9 to show the rate and for comparison. The following is an overview of some offence types.
Unlawfully on premises – trespass In the 1998-99 year there were 198 matters of trespass reported and recorded during 1999-2000 the number increased to 424. Of the 198 matters in 1998-1999, sixty-eight of them were recorded in Glenorchy (34%) and 139 offences in Glenorchy recorded of the 424 matters in 1999-2000 (32%) of the matters.
Consultations with police revealed that there has been a change in police practice in the way that suspects are charged. There had been difficulties in proving an intent to steal so on some occasions police may only be able to prove the lesser charge of trespass.
Uttering, Fraud, Forgery and False Pretences Matters under these categories have indicated some interesting patterns that need to be considered. They also highlight the problems in taking data on “face value”.
In the 1998-99 year, 320 matters were recorded relating to Fraud, all of which were recorded in the suburb of Glenorchy. In 1999-2000 year there were just 2 matters, one in Glenorchy and one in Moonah.
In 1998-99, 238 matters were recorded concerning Forgery with 192 taking place in Chigwell (80% of the matters). However, in 1999-2000 year 31 matters were recorded, with only 4 taking place in Chigwell. Three hundred and twenty-five matters concerning False Pretences were recorded during the 1998-99 year with 193 recorded in Chigwell (this represents 59% of the offences) and 115 offences were recorded in the 1999-2000 year. However only 4 of these occurred in Chigwell, 44% of these matters occurred in Glenorchy.
In the category of Uttering, 243 offences were recorded in 1998-99 year compared with 22 in 1999-2000. Of the 243 offences recorded in the City of Glenorchy, 192 of them were recorded in Chigwell (79% of the matters). However, in the 1999-2000 year just 5 matters were recorded in Chigwell.
It may appear that there was a lot of white collar crime during 1998 or that police were targeting these crimes which had then reduced the number dramatically for the following year. Review of trends in previous years and consultations with police reveal that a small number of people were charged with a large number of fraud type offences in 1998, with little activity in these areas during the following year.
32 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Table 3.8 Number of selected offences by suburb City of Glenorchy 1998-1999 and 1999-2000
Glenorchy Chigwell Claremont Moonah 1998-99 1999-2000 1998-99 1999-2000 1998-1999 1999-2000 1998-99 1999-2000 Assaults sexual 10 9 0 4 3 0 0 3 other 77 124 8 21 30 31 39 69 Burglary 759 795 84 84 274 208 450 591 Fraud 402 76 577 9 35 12 52 43 Injury to 272 277 39 43 85 149 131 175 property Robbery 13 17 1 3 3 0 5 4 Shoplifting 89 133 14 0 14 18 19 27 Stealing 1060 999 102 101 388 376 557 662 Stealing MV 210 209 35 34 77 82 150 192 Trespass 68 140 11 24 23 66 38 79
Table 3.9 Number of selected offences by suburb per 15,000 people City of Glenorchy 1998-1999 and 1999-2000
Glenorchy Chigwell Claremont Moonah
1998-99 1999-2000 1998-99 1999-2000 1998-1999 1999-2000 1998-99 1999-2000 Assaults sexual 10.69442 9.624982 0 22.93578 6.892327 0 0 7.4454 other 82.34707 132.6109 45.87156 120.4128 68.92327 71.22071 96.79021 171.2442 Burglary 811.7068 850.2068 481.6514 481.6514 629.4992 477.868 1116.81 1466.744 Fraud 429.9159 81.27763 3308.486 51.6055 80.41048 27.56931 129.0536 106.7174 Injury to property 290.8884 296.2356 223.6239 246.5596 195.2826 342.3189 325.1158 434.315 Robbery 13.90275 18.18052 5.733945 17.20183 6.892327 0 12.409 9.927201 Shoplifting 95.18038 142.2358 80.27523 0 32.16419 41.35396 47.1542 67.0086 Stealing 1133.609 1068.373 584.8624 579.1284 891.4076 863.8383 1382.363 1642.952 Stealing MV 224.5829 223.5135 200.6881 194.9541 176.903 188.3903 372.27 476.5056 Trespass 72.72209 149.7219 63.07339 137.6147 52.84117 151.6312 94.30841 196.0622
33 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Figure 2 Number of selected offences by suburb per 15,000 people City of Glenorchy 1998-1999 and 1999-2000
3500
3000
2500
2000 number Glenorchy
1500 Chigwell Chigwell 1000 Claremont
Moonah 500 Moonah 0 Claremont Chigwell place and year
Glenorchy
other
sexual
Assaults
Fraud
Burglary
Robbery
Stealing
Shoplifting
Trespass Stealing MV Stealing
offence type property to Injury
Burglary About 30% of the burglary matters occurred in the suburb of Glenorchy. Although there appears to be a reduction in the number of burglary offences in the City of Glenorchy over the two year period.
It would appear from available data that the offence type with the highest recorded crime in the City of Glenorchy for 1999-2000 is stealing from buildings followed by burglary (other buildings). This generally means garden sheds, garages and non- residential buildings.
The Crime Prevention Council of Tasmania has compiled some data concerning burglary from the Crime Analysis System over a six month period January 1998 to June 1998 for the suburbs of Glenorchy, Claremont and Moonah which appear in Tables 3.10 and 3.11. Proportionately it would seem that Moonah has a very high rate of burglary and motor vehicle theft as compared with its counterparts. This is evident over the two year period as well which appears in Table 3.9 and Figure 2.
34 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Table 3.10 Number of Burglary (all buildings) by suburb January – June 1998
Suburb Jan Feb March April May June Jan-June Claremont 29 23 32 16 27 36 163 Glenorchy 98 44 66 67 71 45 391 Moonah 60 58 57 34 51 70 430
Populations – Claremont 6529, Glenorchy 14,026, Moonah 6044
Table 3.11 Number of Burglary (motor vehicles/other conveyances) by suburb January – June 1998
Suburb Jan Feb March April May June Jan-June Claremont 9 11 1 1 4 26 Glenorchy 20 21 16 20 27 23 127 Moonah 20 43 21 20 27 21 152
Populations – Claremont 6529, Glenorchy 14,026, Moonah 6044
Crime reports from Glenorchy police indicate a number of problems or potential problems in the Moonah industrial and business precincts with strategies being designed by police to prevent robberies and burglaries during peak periods such as the Easter break. It would seem important to give further attention to the Moonah area concerning these matters.
Violence and assaults Anecdotal evidence from police officers indicate that officers attend to a high number of domestic violence matters in the Moonah area, some of which result in no further action and some which result in restraining or protection orders being instituted by the courts.
Over the six month period January to June 1998 data indicate that Moonah recorded the highest rate of assaults as compared with Glenorchy and Claremont.
The occurrence of assaults was raised often during consultations conducted by Council. This is a concern and a fear of many people in the community. However, the data do not show a high level of assaults as compared with other offences.
35 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Table 3.12 Number of Assaults (Aggravated Assault, Grievous Bodily Harm/Wounding) by Suburb January – June 1998
Suburb Jan Feb March April May June Jan-June Claremont 2 7 4 2 3 18 Glenorchy 7 7 4 11 16 1 46 Moonah 8 4 2 10 8 5 37
Populations – Claremont 6529, Glenorchy 14,026, Moonah 6044
Trespass notices – public space The practice of using Trespass Notices has been wide spread in recent months in shopping centres and shops in the Glenorchy, Moonah and Claremont areas particularly for young people with disruptive behaviour as well as those who are seen as “known offenders”. Generally a young person is issued with a Trespass Notice and if they disobey the Notice and return the security officer or shop owner calls the police to arrest them for trespassing. A successful appeal in the Supreme Court of Tasmania on 26 June 2000 will have an affect on the use of these Notices in the future and the validity of current notices issued to young people. The Court held that the security officer had no authority to issue the notice as an agent for the owner of the shopping centre.
The issues of young people‟s use of public space are increasing and are highlighted in many aspects of community safety and in supporting young people‟s passage through adolescence and away from the criminal justice system. This was constantly raised in the development of the City‟s Community Plan and in the development of this Strategy. Some of these issues are dealt with further in Chapters 6 and 7.
Future directions Of the selected crime categories, the statistics show that related offences of stealing are high across the three regions of Glenorchy, Hobart and Clarence. However, these offences are particularly high in the City of Glenorchy followed by offences relating to burglary. Statistics also show that unlawful entry with intent (UEWI) is high in Tasmania concerning the retail industry.
The community‟s concern about burglary of their homes was reflected in the consultations conducted by Council. However, statistics seem to indicate that this is not necessarily where the majority of the offences are occurring. Data are clustered around “other buildings” that are “non-dwelling” such as garden sheds and garages.
The retail industry of Glenorchy has been quite vocal during consultations for this Community Safety Strategy about its perception of shoplifting, vandalism, and burglary of businesses out of hours. Statistics also reflect this. Some business owners are currently in the process of investigating ways to minimise these offences occurring. Investigations include the use of patrolling security guards during the night.
36 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Currently some shopping centres and shop owners are using exclusion methods such as bans and trespass notices to prevent young people from shopping or being on the premises. The recent decision in the Supreme Court of Appeal of Tasmania as mentioned previously, has found that in that particular case the security officer did not have the authority to issue the trespass notice. This raises issues for the use of trespass notices. It would seem timely therefore to investigate alternative responses to young people‟s behaviour in public places. Young people‟s ability to obtain legal advice on a range of matters is restricted by the lack of legal services in Glenorchy. It is a recommendation of this Report and Strategy that investigations be undertaken to establish partnerships with Legal Aid Tasmania for the allocation of a solicitor to provide outreach legal advice services in Glenorchy for young people.
Specific strategies need to be developed to assess the retail industries concerns, such as research to understand the extent of the problems and what current pro-active strategies are available to prevent theft, vandalism and burglary. For example, if security systems are in place, the design and lay out of stores and whether a safety audit has been conducted by police and other safety specialists. These matters will be dealt with further in Chapter 7 Targeted Strategies.
After normalising populations, reported crimes are high in Glenorchy as compared with Clarence and Hobart in all offence types except shoplifting. Conclusion cannot be made on this information in isolation without considering other factors. For example these data are recorded reported crimes and information was not available about the outcomes of these offences.
Consideration must also be paid to issues raised in Chapter 2 “A Community Profile of Glenorchy” about the demographic and socio-economic indicators of the City of Glenorchy. The index of relative disadvantage and the characteristics of Glenorchy clearly demonstrate that the region of Glenorchy is socio-economically stressed within a disadvantaged State. Further, the level of services do not match the needs of the people. Indicators show high unemployment, low levels of income and education. These are risk factors described in the Pathways to Prevention Report discussed at Chapter 1. Protective factors need to be put in place to balance the risk factors. Crime prevention approaches in Glenorchy must address the urgent need of protective factors, other approaches such as criminal justice strategies will only be “band aid” and not address the causes of crime.
These matters go beyond the ambit of the City Council and require a whole of Government approach with the establishment of partnerships with Departments such as the Police Service and the Department of Health and Human Services, and Legal Aid Tasmania for example.
37 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Part Two The Strategy Chapter 4 Community development and community safety The Glenorchy Council sees itself as a progressive organisation that exists to serve and work with the community in understanding intimately what must be done to meet the community‟s needs. It approaches this philosophy in an open and accountable fashion and by focussing on a two-way partnership with the community. It prides itself on its ability to listen to community representation, and strives to develop innovative and entrepreneurial solutions through good ideas. The development of a crime prevention and community safety strategy is an example of this. The Mayor and the Council of Glenorchy have been involved in informing the community about such issues and listening to their experiences.
The following is an overview of initiatives concerning community safety since 1992.
1992 Glenorchy City Council conducted a community survey by telephone of 400 residents. Communities expressed their concerns of crime and safety. 1993 The Council held a “Safe City” conference that was attended by about 130 people who have concerns about safety issues in four areas –
a) The underlying causes of crime in society. b) The roles of community, Government, Education Department, business, the courts, and police in addressing crime. c) Steps to collectively and individually prevent crime. d) Strategies to deal with crime.
1992 The development of a crime prevention strategy that was in response to the outcomes of the conference and further specific consultations.
Some specific initiatives has since been developed –
A Safety Audit Kit and audits of selection locations conducted by community members. Establishment of a vandalism register within Council Employment of street youth workers, the development of a Youth Resource Centre in the CBD and the establishment of a Youth Task Force. Inclusion of crime prevention guidelines in Councils planning scheme Conduct of an urban design conference for builders, developers and design professionals focusing on designing for crime prevention. Conduct of self-protection programs Development of a sponsored sensor lights scheme.
1992 Establishment of a Glenorchy Safer Communities Committee and Employment of a Safer Communities Co-ordinator which have developed some specific strategies – Establishment of a Junior Neighbourhood Watch
38 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Production of a Community Safety Directory in association with the Crime Prevention and Community Safety Council. Community Safety Awareness program with students from Claremont High School. Community Safety Week and an awards ceremony.
1999 Community Survey of 400 residents about their perceptions of crime and safety. Some findings reflected the view that the level of crime was serious. Home burglary was seen as the main crime problem. Particular streets or locations were highlighted as hotspots or dangerous, such as the bus mall and Northgate Shopping Centre. (See below for an overview of the findings).
1999/2000 Development of Glenorchy Community Plan for the next 10-20years. Extensive consultation with the community was undertaken. Creating a safer community is one of the key themes of the Plan.
1999 The Tasmanian Crime Prevention and Community Safety Directory, signed off by Minister of Police and Public Safety and Ald Terry Martin, Mayor of Glenorchy.
2000 Young People and Crime: Breaking the Cycle Conference which was co- sponsored by the Glenorchy City Council and the Tasmanian Government.
Safer Communities Survey – March 1999 Consultants were contracted by the Glenorchy City Council to undertake a telephone survey of 400 residents of the City. The project aimed to identify the key issues, concerns, perceptions and expectations of the community regarding community safety and crime prevention. The results of the survey were to contribute to the development of the Community Plan.
The respondents The sample comprised of 400 residents who were 64% female and 36% male. This represents less than 1% of the residents of the City. The interviewers asked to speak to the “head of the household” which meant that no young people were surveyed and respondents had to be over 18 years. Seventy-six percent of the participants were between 25 years and 69 years. It is interesting to note that 64% of the “heads of the households” were women which may also indicate a high number of women living alone or with their children. Not all respondents answered every question.
Fear of crime The respondents were asked of their perceptions of the level of crime which will tell us something about the fear of crime. Home burglary was identified as the area of most concern with nearly 56% of respondents stating that they or a close relative have been directly affected. However 73% of all respondents said that they felt quite safe or most safe in their homes. Respondents stated that they felt “very or quite safe” for their family in the shopping areas of Moonah and Claremont. Sixty-six to sixty-eight per cent felt safe in the Glenorchy shopping area, their suburb and in Glenorchy parks and gardens. Fifty-eight per cent felt the “least safe” in other public areas such as the malls and on public transport.
39 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Personal attacks and anti-social behaviour in malls and shopping centres were also raised as a great concern. These fears came about from what people saw in the shopping centres and malls (32%), from the experiences of their families (25%), from the experiences of friends (22%), and neighbours or media reports (18%), (3% did not comment).
Perceptions of who commits crime 98% of respondents stated that the unemployed were mainly responsible for crime, although only 61% thought that unemployment is a main social factor of crime.
In the recorded comments of participants, many were focussed on blaming young people for crime and what ought to happen to young people as a result which includes greater and harsher power for police and law enforcement agencies.
Addressing crime About 60% of respondents believe that the Police Department is responsible for dealing with crime and safety issues. Generally it was interpreted that the respondents thought that it deserved a whole of community response.
Although the perception rating of the effectiveness of Council was incomplete, a significant number of the recorded comments clearly show that the respondents felt that the Mayor and the Council were doing an excellent job for the community and had been effective in dealing with the crime and safety issue.
Information about safety Approximately 50% of respondents stated that they found out about safety issues through the daily newspaper, 39% said that they read about it in the Glenorchy Gazette with reports from family and friends, television and Neighbourhood Watch also being important sources of information.
Two-thirds of the respondents to the survey indicated an interest in attending Council forums about community safety that maybe held in the future.
Development of the community plan Matters of community safety The Community Plan preceded the development of a five year Strategic Plan for Council 2000-2005. A consultation exercise was undertaken over a five month period to obtain data for the development of the Plan. Over 600 people attended a range of meetings and focus groups. The meetings and groups concentrated on eliciting information concerning issues, needs and a vision of the community over the next 10 – 20 years.
A number of issues raised in the development of the community plan concern the community safety of the City and the strengthening of the community. Issues and matters relevant to community safety were considered in each of the priority areas. The following is an overview of the views of the participants and will form the basis of the “broad brush” approach to social development of the Community Safety Strategy.
40 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Maintaining the assets of the community The participants discussed public property, parks, footpaths and roads. Comments centred on issues of safety and reducing vandalism.
Community members would like to see better traffic flow and a reduction in the number of fast cars and motor bikes. They would like footpaths and cycle ways to be safe and in good working order. Many people commented on the level of rubbish around the city and how they would like to see it disposed of quicker. The level of vandalism to public and private property was raised as a concern. It was acknowledged that for some of these matters Council has no control but that there was a role for Council to build partnerships with Government Departments and mechanisms to refer particular issues and matters to these Departments.
A stronger community - participation Respondents to consultations highlighted a need to be able to better participate in their city and be involved in solving problems, being involved in decision-making, and promoting understanding, tolerance and respect within the community. Suggested ways of being able to do this have been incorporated into the Community Safety Strategy.
Social - A safer community All safety and policing measures must address the fear of crime, the actual level of crime and assistance for the victims of crime.
Participants stated that they thought that people should be able to feel safe in their houses, neighbourhoods and the city as a whole. Victims of crime should feel that they have been treated justly and can get on with their lives. Many people commented that they would like to see the level of crime decrease. Suggestions have been included in the Community Safety Strategy.
A caring community Communicating with and caring about citizens were seen as important features of a cohesive community, which included a good quality of life and access to essential services.
Participants of the consultation stated that services should match needs. Support for families, children, older persons and neighbourhoods were often raised as important considerations for Council within the Community Plan.
The well-being of citizens was a priority, with their education, health, housing, and transport needs highlighted. Day to day essential services such as adequate Post Office services, rubbish collection and public transport are the routine things that make a difference to the community.
The community representatives discussed that anti-social behaviour, vandalism, petty theft and recreational crime needs to be addressed.
41 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Economic -A challenging creative community Members of the community commented on the importance of economic development and how they would like to see Glenorchy be a leading centre in the state for new investments and innovative growing businesses trading in the global market place.
Job creation and a significant reduction in unemployment were goals that they would like to see set. Training and skills development, support for existing business and support for families affected by unemployment were raised as issues for Council and State Government in partnership.
Other important issues affecting the future of Glenorchy City included the use of leisure time, available entertainment and well marketed events such as Christmas markets, celebrations and public holiday events.
It was also felt that tourism could be better promoted to bring travellers and holiday makers to the City.
An environmentally sustainable community Participants in the consultation said that they would like to see clean safe waterways and foothills for recreation and leisure. It was thought that the whole community could share the responsibility of reducing pollution as well as economic development such as planning for business.
Civic standards for public spaces and facilities such as parks, foreshores, walkways and cycleways were recommended as well as the need for clean and safe, public toilets and amenities.
Police service The Glenorchy Police Station is centrally located on Main Road in the suburb of Glenorchy across the street from the Council Offices. At the time of writing this report there were 43 officers stationed there.
The Glenorchy station has responsibility for a large area which in fact stretches to Hobart if a request is made out of the City‟s boundaries. Likewise, police officers based in Hobart can also cross the Glenorchy City boundaries to attend to a matter in Glenorchy. This is a recent development and assures the community a quicker response and prevents what has been seen as a “patch mentality” in the past, in only servicing the district.
Glenorchy police officers receive about 14% of all of the public calls to police in Tasmania, and they deal with 44% of crime in the Eastern district in any given year (Association News, March 2000)23.
Officers report that in their experience about 80% of their workload each week is taken up with matters such as shoplifting, harassment, general anti-social behaviour and drinking in a public place. Officers report that there is a lot of pressure on them from the business community to deal with these sorts of matters. In particular, some
23 Fleming J (2000) “Glenorchy Station – Eastern Division”. Association News. Vol 4 No 1 March. Police Association of Tasmania.
42 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy shop keepers want young people suspected of committing offences, banned from their shops (consultations with officers, shop owners and security officers).
Unemployment, suspension from school and alcohol problems are highlighted by officers as some of the causes of crime and contributing factors to anti-social behaviour. It would be fair to say that the demands and expectations on police by the community and by the business sector go beyond general policing. Officers are expected to resolve relationship problems, referee in quarrels and sort out neighbourhood and family disputes. Officers say that conflict resolution skills are lacking in the community and there are expectations placed on police officers to sort these things out.
It would appear that there is a lack of counselling services available in the area where people could seek assistance or be referred to police. Mediation or community conferencing scheme could also assist police, and community members. Restorative justice and other dispute resolution schemes are currently operating across the country, some of which have been evaluated. Conferencing currently exists as a diversionary strategy for young offenders within the provisions of the Youth Justice Act, 1999. Further research in this area could result in the establishment of a similar service to assist the wider community.
It is evident that a good relationship exists between the Glenorchy police officers and the staff of the Glenorchy City Council. The Mayor, some Aldermen, senior police and council officers maintain a solid working relationship through regular information dissemination and communication at various levels. For example attendance and participation on committees and regular exchange of ideas and day to day reporting on particular matters.
Crime prevention and police Senior officers rely on the experiences of the officers in their day to day policing and on available data from the Crime Management Unit to design crime prevention and community safety strategies.
For example, police found an increase in the number of crimes reported in the Glenorchy division during the month of February 2000. Police were concerned about assaults and robbery offences and their causes. In response, the Inspector in charge instituted a Glenorchy Central Business District Task Force and a number of strategies to reduce the level of crime, alleviate the community‟s fear of crime and to assure their confidence in the police service as well as address the media‟s handling of the situation.
The strategies included a greater visibility of police, targeting nuisance and anti-social behaviour, maintaining open and clear communication with the city council and continued media liaison. The month of March and April saw a steady decline in reported crime, in particular the number of assaults. However, the high visibility of police was well-noticed and well-received by the community and business sector. During consultations for the Community Plan and the Community Safety Strategy, most people commented positively on the effects of building confidence and relationships between the community and the Police Service through a greater visibility of police officers.
43 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Another example of a crime prevention strategy occurred during the Easter period of 2000. The Tactical Report of the Eastern Crime Management Unit indicated locations and people at risk during the Easter break. A number of strategies were put in place to reduce the likelihood of crime occurring. This included discussions with shop owners and security assessments of businesses, a decision by business to remain open for trading, high visibility of police and combined traffic operation in the central business district area.
44 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Chapter 5 Goals and Principles
The Strategy has four goals and a set of guiding principles that underpin its framework and on which the actions are based. These have been developed by considering the literature, what works in other communities and in consultation with the Glenorchy Community.
Each Department of the Council should consider and have regard for these goals and principles when developing programs and activities.
Goals Support and strengthen all members of the community
Reduce violence and crime
Build confidence in public space
Address offending in ways which are effective for both victims and offenders
Guiding Principles Community safety in Glenorchy is:
an integral part of the Strategic Plan and the Community Plan for Glenorchy
part of the social development of the Glenorchy community where people are valued, listened to and are able to address issues in partnership with Council, Government, non-government and business
built on an understanding of the Glenorchy community and what currently exists and works well
grounded in current theory and best practice principles about crime prevention and community safety
continually being monitored and evaluated
45 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Chapter 6
Social development and community safety The following section provides a “broad brush” approach to community safety for the City of Glenorchy. The table considers the literature and theory on community safety for Local Government and the community safety issues identified in the Community Plan. These issues are applied to the stated goals of the strategy and are guided by the principles. The aim of the “broad brush” approach is to provide general guidelines and action that will work towards the social development of the City of Glenorchy. Specific priority areas have arisen from statistical evidence and from the consultation with communities. This will form specific strategies.
It is acknowledged that it is not possible to prevent crime completely, but it is possible to reduce the incidence of some crime in particular areas over time. The social development approach aims to build protective factors to address the risk factors that have been identified in the research findings in the earlier Chapters. It is recommended that targeted community safety strategies are implemented and monitored in the first stages. Over time other priority areas will emerge and can also be targeted. Realistic goals bring realistic outcomes.
Stakeholders and partnerships Council has identified key stakeholders in the development of the Community Plan and the Community Safety Strategy. That is, those who will have a direct or indirect interest in the development and implementation of the Plans. These include the Departments of Council and the following relevant sections and programs:
Community Development and Participation Children‟s Services Youth Services Community Aged Care Packages Community Development Community Options Precincts Volunteer Program Arts and Cultural Development Safer Communities
Environmental Planning and Development Environmental Health Major Projects Planning & Development Co-ordination Planning
Corporate Services Corporate library & Infoline Customer Service
46 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Governance, Performance & Planning Community Plan & Team Glenorchy Government Relations Partnership Public Relations Special Projects Strategic Plan
Economic Development Business Precinct Liaison Tourism
Roads and Recreation Recreation & Building Design, Management, Maintenance & Cleaning Recreation & Building Workforce Road, Recreation & Building Assets Information
Council committees that are relevant to community safety Precinct Committees Community Safety Committee Youth Task Force Access Committee
Other associations and business Pensioners Association Glenorchy Better Business Association Police Service Schools in the local area University of Tasmania Employers Trade Unions Media
Government Departments Police Service Crime Prevention and Community Safety Council of Tasmania Department of Housing, Health and Human Services Department of Education Non-Government Organisations The Courts
Informal partnerships Families Neighbours Friends People living in Glenorchy People working in Glenorchy People visiting Glenorchy
47 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Partnerships Building partnerships, sharing resources, research findings and information are key components of the Pathways to Prevention Report. These are also recommended by the study of the New South Wales Department of Attorney-General into the development of crime prevention and community safety strategies for local communities (Shipway & Homel 1999).24
Identifying stakeholders with similar interests who can work together is vital to developing and implementing this strategy. Current crime prevention programs, activities or strategies can also be considered as to their appropriateness so as to build on what works rather than just setting up new programs.
The Pensioners Association has already been brought together with the Youth Task Force with reported results. This partnership could be extended to residents of retirement villages and homes to provide outings.
Other partnerships Community Safety Committee with the Community Safety Officer. Community Safety Committee and the Precinct Committee Council with local schools Council with the Derwent Education District Council with courts – overseeing community service orders Council with University, links with Uni for research and student placements.
Partnership Agreement between Glenorchy City Council and Tasmanian State Government
The Mayor of Glenorchy has recently signed a Protocol Agreement with the State Government whereby partnerships will be fostered between local and State Government and community organisations with common interests to work together, share resources and seek funding in identified key areas. This will assist the Council inidentifying areas of need and in forming partnerships with Government Departments to address community safety issues.
24 Shipway & Homel (1999) Safer Cities and Towns: Crime Prevention Planning in Rural New South Wales. New South Wales Attorney General‟s Department.
48 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Action Plan
Goal 1 Support and strengthen all members of the community
Strategy Developing social cohesion by –
Valuing and assisting the community and encouraging them to participate in community life and in the development of their city. Urban renewal Economic development Job creation Planning regular events and entertainment Policy development that matches the needs of the community
Action Council Partnerships Dept Provide information by Council call centre or reception in order to refer to appropriate Government Departments or community organisations. Develop an integrated, co-ordinated information strategy that includes community and Government information that covers the needs of special groups. Develop strategies and projects that promote tolerance, understanding and respect for all members of the community. Design programs that are aimed to research and overcome isolation and loneliness of people in the community that is tailored to older people, the disabled, and those from a non-English speaking background for example. Design strategies to assist the elderly to stay in their homes as long as they are able to remain there. Reduce the occurrence of child abuse and domestic violence, as articulated under Goal 2 Reduce Violence and Crime. Encourage and enable people to participate within their communities and in the development of their city. Continue to resource and facilitate the Community Plan process with a forum of key stakeholders to assist in the implementation.
49 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Continue to develop the Council‟s community consultation and participation processes and to maintain the Council‟s leadership role in this regard. Develop a partnership agreement between State government and council incorporating the Community Plan priorities.
Continue the implementation of the precinct system and encourage the participation of all parts of the community, particularly young people. Expand the role of the Glenorchy Youth Task Force to work with young people in precinct areas and to act as mentors. Develop community capacity building programs in local areas to enhance neighbourhood relationships. Develop schools as community resources where the community can obtain access to meeting places, Libraries, education courses and information technology. Glenorchy Gazette – re-vamp and ensure delivered to all households and available at schools and libraries etc.
Goal 2 Reduce Violence and Crime
Strategy: a. building and improving protective factors for families and individuals to address risk factors b. reducing the incidence of violence and anti-social behaviour at community events and licensed venues c. alleviating the community’s fear of crime a. Building and improving protective factors for families and individuals to address risk factors.
It may be argued that society is not able to prevent crime completely, but over time, with the implementation of a multi-faceted strategy, through putting in place protective factors to address risk factors, it is possible to reduce the level of crime. Protective factors would include the reduction in the level of poverty, unemployment, and homelessness for example.
50 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Action Council Partnerships Dept Continue to develop and co-ordinate the provision of family support programs for those at risk including parenting skills programs and a 24 hour a day crisis hot-line with support workers who can assist families in need. Training for child care centres to assess early identification of children at risk of abuse. Home visitation programs from birth to school age have proven very successful in the USA and the UK in longitudinal studies and discussed in the Sherman Report. These programs seek to provide support for new parents and increase protective factors that reduce the likelihood of violence. Mentoring programs could also assist new parents with older members of the community visiting families.
Develop partnership programs with the Department of Housing to ensure affordable accommodation. Consider and further support the services of programs such as Stepping Stones, Good Beginnings Program or PRAM to provide early intervention support for families, children and young people. Identify and develop harm minimisation programs to support those, particularly young people at risk of suicide, homelessness, drug and alcohol abuse. Support the establishment of the proposed Youth Health Centre funded conjointly by the Department of Health and Human Services. The Service may consider developing procedures for drug use and harm minimisation and the development of a safe means of syringe disposal. A community that provides support for reducing adverse health and social impacts of alcohol and drug use will build protective factors and will minimise harm to its young people. Develop role model and mentoring programs for schools similar to those programs provided at Chigwell and Rosetta Primary Schools.
51 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Develop support for grandparents who are primary carers of young children while parents are working. Ensure a diverse and affordable range of child care options including the provision of emergency care, out of school hours and vacation care programs. Develop a domestic violence program within the Police Service to assist and reduce violence against women. Advertise support services for families and women on the inside wall of buses. Develop a strategy about tolerance of gay and lesbians in the community Improving employment opportunities particularly for young people. Develop partnership with local schools to assist young people to stay at school as long as possible and then encouraged into University, TAFE or traineeship programs.
Availability of counselling programs to assist individuals and families in crisis. Develop mediation services for Glenorchy that would train members of the community in conflict resolution skills and to be able to facilitate community conferencing.
b. Reducing the incidence of violence and anti-social behaviour at community events and licensed venues.
Action Council Partnerships Dept Assess problem areas in and around licensed venues with a view to develop specific strategies around issues such as drunken behaviour, violence and nuisance behaviour to patrons or passing public. Reduce drinking alcohol and related nuisance behaviour in public spaces. Alcohol-free zones around shopping centres public transport and other areas could be identified and deemed. Restrictive licenses for special events to reduce the level of alcohol available and consumed. Utilise tourism development strategies to establish entertainment which will also increase employment opportunities.
52 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Ensure that Glenorchy is adequately serviced by police and ensure that police maintain a visible presence in the central business district, shopping centres and other identified “hot spots”. d. Alleviating the community’s fear of crime
Action Council Partnerships Dept Ensure accurate and adequate provision of crime statistics. Consider and respond to the findings of the Fear of Crime Project currently being conducted that includes some parts of Glenorchy, such as the transport system and the bus interchange. Consider evaluation findings from the Fear of Crime Project concerning positive promotion of young people. Work with the Crime Prevention Council to develop public information and forums about the true level of crime and community safety. Inform the media of positive strategies on crime prevention and achievements in particularly areas or neighbourhoods so as to achieve a balance of reporting. Provide the Glenorchy Gazette with positive stories and accurate information about crime. Work with Neighbourhood Watch in the development of their Newsletters to ensure that analyses of crime are accurate and sensible information is relayed to communities. It would appear that Neighbourhood Watch has been quite successful in bringing the community together and providing a sense of care about neighbours. Further work could be done to assist NHW to be more effective in this regard. The group could also be assisted to develop alternatives to the “adopt a cop” scheme. Develop strategies to reduce the fear of crime which address intergenerational concerns about youth images.
53 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Goal 3 Building confidence in public space
Strategy Increasing access for all the community and developing strategies which will increase public use of open spaces and reduce the fear of violence and crime, in particular: a. Access to public space as recreation space b. Business space as public space c. Safety in public space and on public transport d. Environmental planning a. Access to public space as recreation space Action Council Partnerships Dept Carefully consider the current use of the rose garden in front of Council Chambers. Could this space be made more accessible to the public such as providing picnic tables and shelters and play equipment for children? With the assistance of the Moonah Arts Centre, a community mural or sculpture could be made in the garden with the participation of the community, making this area for the people. Conduct an audit25 of public spaces that can be used and shared by groups and individuals, such as parks, gardens, community halls, club houses, sporting grounds and buildings. Sharing these resources will offer places for a variety of needs and increase the occupancy of the areas and possibly reduce the level of vandalism and theft if they are in use more often. Expand recreation uses of commercial centres through special events for all age groups, with craft exhibitions, stalls, monthly events and Saturday night activities such as music festivals. Identify a program of sustainable annual major city wide events, and celebrations such as Australia Day, Easter, Christmas, Labour Day, International Women‟s Day etc. Develop a month long Glenorchy Festival that builds on existing activities and events. Continue to develop a range of entertainment
25 White, Murray and Robins (1996). Negotiating Youth-Specific Public Space: A Guide for Youth and Community Workers, Town Planners and Local Councils. Youth Programs Unit Dpt of Training and Education Co-ordination.
54 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy and events in King George V park, Toloso Park and Wilkinson‟s Point including youth oriented bands and concerts and community barbeques. Develop a broad range of arts and cultural activities in venues and locations throughout the city. Facilitate the provision of local theatre opportunities. Provide a map of the Derwent River and waterways showing public access, boat ramps, fishing, swimming, private and public property boundaries. Develop a city wide strategy for the development and maintenance of sports grounds and facilities including minor sports (school, council and private). Develop precinct recreation and open space plans. Develop a city park in Moonah. Investigate the development of community gardens.
Particular needs of young people It is acknowledged that young people congregate or hang out in public spaces largely because they have no identified space that is their own to meet with friends. Public spaces are often the sites for conflict with adults, security guards or police. It is for these reasons it is acknowledged that these issues need to be addressed and dealt in more detail in Chapter 7 Targeted Strategies - Young People. The need for specialised health and legal services has been identified in this Report and recommendations have been made in this regard under Goal 2 Reduce Violence and Crime and Goal 4 Addressing Offending.
b. Business space as public space Action Council Partnerships Dept Council to develop guidelines or protocols for the development of business which will take into consideration a range of needs. It is acknowledged that development is scarce and Council has not been in a position to impose too many restrictions on developers. However, protocols that outline ways in which spaces could be managed so that they are inclusive of the whole community and reduce the incidence of violence would be
55 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy very beneficial. Work by White and Sutton (2000)26 would be helpful in this regard.
There appears to be a lack of cafes and restaurants in the Glenorchy CBD with members of the community complaining that there is “nothing to do” and “nowhere to eat”. The promotion of these venues and the encouragement of business to open at night to provide meals and entertainment may reduce the drinking of alcohol in parks and public spaces at night (see also Goal 2 Reducing Violence and Crime). Provide focus points in reserves and parks such as community chess boards, seating, vendors, buskers, cafes, picnic facilities, and walking trails for example.
c. Safety in public space and on public transport
Action Council Partnerships Dept Undertake a comprehensive review of public transport needs and services.
Provide free or inexpensive convenient transport to community events.
Consider the findings of the Fear of Crime project concerning the use of public transport.
Better advertise and promote bus use to encourage more people to use it, in particular women travelling alone at night.
Develop strategies with the Metro to promote safety when travelling at night, such as better lighting, safe seats close to the driver with signs advertising that the driver is in constant communication with base and the police stations.
26 White and Sutton (2000). Social Planning for Mall Redevelopment: An Australian Case Study. In press. (Sociology/Law Dept Uni of Tasmania for correspondence.
56 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Review lowering the speed limits within residential areas following the speed limit pilot program in Lutuna and develop a city wide strategy.
d. Environmental planning Improved safety can occur through lighting and design features in business, shopping areas, waterways and recreation venues. Problem areas and “hot spots” should be identified through conducting audits or building on previous safety audits to determine appropriate responses.
Action Council Partnerships Dept Develop a city wide street scaping strategy and review standards. It should include planting and maintaining a range of trees and low growing shrubs and flowers that will not provide potential hiding spots for potential attackers. Public information through television ads, newspaper and brochures about safety procedures to be taken when travelling or walking alone at night. Undertake an economic and social study of emerging trends for all Council owned facilities and develop a city wide strategy for the development of parks and public open spaces. Strategies should consider the needs of different groups including disability access and to incorporate arts projects.
“Adopt a park” by a local school, kindergarten, precinct committee or a group of residents who will maintain and care for the state of a park. People could apply to council for trees and plants.
Goal 4 Address offending in ways which are effective for both victims and offenders
Strategy Supporting victims of crime and reducing their fear of repeat victimisation to help them to get on with their lives; and aiding the rehabilitation and support for offenders to prevent their re-offending which will also strengthen the community.
57 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
It is acknowledged that the Council can not have influence over the formulation of legislation, decisions of the courts or in sentencing, but it may be involved in policy and law reform and community service orders for example.
Action Council Partnerships Dept Establish linkages for referral to victim support groups. Develop partnerships with the police service to set up social workers to support victims of crime. Oversee or assist in the management of community service orders, particularly for young people. This could include designing training and skills-based orders to ensure meaningful and appropriate sentences. Provide sufficient resources to set up and run community conferences as defined by the Youth Justice Act to bring together and assist victims and offenders. Provide a wholistic service, including legal assistance, to address the issues facing those young people alleged to have broken the law. The lawyer could be placed within the new health centre. Develop programs that facilitate improvement in relationships between police and young people including the police/schools liaison program. Ensure that programs exist that will offer at risk young people and young offenders challenging activities.
58 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Chapter 7 Targeted Strategies Specific strategies that are evidence-based Research findings from this project have highlighted key areas that require further research and attention. The over-riding issue is that available data are poor. Targeted strategies cannot be developed without a very clear picture, such as a crime profile. This is, data that indicate details of offences (such as what is being stolen from “other buildings” and when) by age, by gender and by court outcomes. Without comprehensive information, strategies will be ill-informed, and cannot be designed to address the specific problem.
However, from the findings there is evidence that some areas deserve further attention. Therefore, a number of recommendations are made concerning the following priority areas.
A. Young people During the course of the consultations to develop the Community Plan and for the development of this Community Safety Strategy, the community often raised concerns about young people. Some people were concerned about their safety, the lack of employment opportunities for them, and the way in which they were regarded in a negative light. Concern was expressed for their future. Others were blaming and saw young people as the cause of public space problems because they were “noisy”, “rowdy”, “dressed funny”, “had no respect for authority and had “bad behaviour”. The wanted to see stricter treatment and policing of young people.
Young people‟s use of public space is quite central to the crime debate as it is there that conflict often occurs with police or security officers. Research clearly shows that contact with the formal criminal justice system is not desirable and that other processes should be used to deal with their “difference” and “behaviour” in order to smooth their passage to adulthood wherever possible.
It is acknowledged that young people congregate or hang out in public spaces largely because they have no identified space that is their own to meet with friends. It is for these reasons that these issues need further attention, particularly as Council has recently undertaken and is now considering evaluation findings of its youth development program.
The Cinema complex is about to open in Glenorchy and the business and retail sectors have raised issues about the whole of the community‟s use of this venue. It would seem timely to consider the following strategy.
Many positive responses were made in relation to the Youth Task Force and its work in educating the community about young people and their experiences. It is clear that this forum should be developed and be actively involved in the Community Plan and the Community Safety Committee.
59 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Police data concerning young people‟s offending was not able to be obtained at this time as data are not recorded by way of age. It would be possible to obtain this data at a later time through partnerships with the Children‟s Court and the Department of Health and Human Services. This would provide an understanding of young people‟s offending so that specific responses can be designed.
The need to develop a specialised health service for young people in Glenorchy has been identified with a steering committee currently developing the terms of reference, and outline for its services. The Minister for Health and Human Services has given her support for the service and is very committed to its establishment which should be operating by the end of 2000. This Strategy endorses this recommendation and sees this service as vital in assisting the well-being of young people and demonstrates the positive outcomes of a partnership approach between State Government and Council.
Strategy – To consider the needs of young people in Glenorchy with respect to their public space use and the evaluation findings of the Youth Development Program of Council.
Action Council Partnerships Dept Further develop the proposal for a Health Centre in the CBD of Glenorchy to assist young people. This is a partnership program between the Dept of Health and Human Services and the City Council. Young people‟s legal needs have also been identified in this Strategy. It is recommended that partnerships be cultivated between Glenorchy City Council and Legal Aid Tasmania in order for a solicitor to provide outreach legal advice services in Glenorchy. Gain an understanding of the recreational social and public space needs of young people, and what it means to them to be able to just hang around. Work with young people to manage the spaces they use in a way that is acceptable to them. Work with shopping centre managers and security guards to develop inclusive strategies for dealing with young people‟s behaviour rather than resorting to banning and trespass notices. Support for the on-going development of the Youth Task Force to educate the public about respect for young people‟s perspectives. Oversee the evaluation findings and directions for the new Youth Development Program.
60 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Consider the findings of the “Truancy and Juvenile Crime” project currently being undertaken by the Derwent Education Program and investigate the Council‟s role in involvement in the recommendations as they relate to the Council‟s role and relationship with local schools. Consider the Council‟s role in responding to the effects of the formulation of and amendments to legislation and policy around children and young people. Consider Council‟s role in overseeing or having input into community service orders for young people in order to provide meaningful and relevant orders to assist in young people‟s rehabilitation. Have input into designing data systems for Police Service, Education Dept and the Courts that can provide an accurate picture of young people‟s involvement in the juvenile justice system. Advocate to State and Commonwealth Governments for adequate levels of services for young people
B. Offences of stealing and burglary
Statistical evidence shows a high level of reported offences relating to stealing and burglary within the City of Glenorchy as compared with districts of a similar size. It is understood that much of these offences relate to the retail industry and to “other buildings” such as garages and garden sheds. Available police data for the development of this Strategy do not present a break down in the statistics as to how much is associated with the retail industry and other locations and what is being stolen. However, national data show Tasmania to have the second highest rate in the country of unlawful entry with intent (UEWI) concerning the retail industry.
It is recommended that data are analysed and specific information is extrapolated so a targeted strategy can be developed, first, around the retail and business sectors.
Retail and business sectors Business premises are much more vulnerable to repeat burglary due to the fact that there is usually no one on the premises at night, security such as electronic systems are often not in place, and it would appear that there has been an apathy to security in Tasmania. Business and shops are known to have merchandise that is “worth stealing”.
Improving security for business premises, a presence of police or security guards around the nearby area are strategies to prevent further break ins. Project Samaritan currently running in the Launceston area has assisted business with their security
61 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy needs. When police are investigating a burglary they assess the level of security in the shop and advise owners of crime prevention strategies that they could take to make their business safer.
The Glenorchy Better Business Association (GBBA) has raised a number of concerns during consultations for the development of the community safety strategy. These expressed concerns include –
High level of repeat victimisation, mostly occurring at night. Shoplifting and vandalism to shop fronts Bad or nuisance behaviour, particularly experienced by women who are sole traders. Young people regarded as nuisances and “known offenders” who pose a threat to store assistants, which may result in issuing bans or trespass notices. It is perceived that police are slow to respond to calls.
The GBBA is currently conducting investigations as to how to carry out its own policing of the situation. This involves assessing the level of spending on security systems with a view of sharing the cost of contracting private security officers to patrol the streets at night.
Strategy – To develop appropriate prevention responses to burglary and stealing by examining the situation for the City of Glenorchy but in particular assess the situation for business and retail.
Action 1 Conduct a short-term research project to fully understand the crime and safety issues for shop owners and businesses. It is claimed, for example, that shoplifting is a serious issue although statistics do not necessarily support this. It is acknowledged however, that these offences are not always reported to police so consequently will not show in the data.
There is currently not a clear picture of who is responsible for committing shoplifting from stores. There is a body of research findings from other studies that shoplifting is sometimes committed by staff. Further, there is not a clear understanding of who is committing burglary and stealing offences relating to the retail industry as data are not complete or available. A study that analysed data by way of reported crime and outcome of the offence by way of gender, age and cultural background would assist to develop suitable responses.
Council Department
62 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Partnerships
Action 2 Record and analyse data concerning the suburbs of Glenorchy and where burglary “hot-spots” are situated, in particular, which retail precincts. Data currently show a high proportion of stealing and burglary offences in the Moonah area, followed by Glenorchy area. (These data need to be placed in a context with the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the suburbs.)
Council Department
Partnership
Action 3 Conduct a safety audit to ascertain information such as the lay-out and design of shops and businesses. For example, a more open-plan space will not provide “blind spots” to enable goods to be easily concealed. A fear of being caught is more of a deterrent than the threat of punishment. Security systems, their efficiency and monitoring would also be assessed as part of the safety audit.
Council Department
Partnerships
63 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Action 4 Consider the development of partnerships to establish Project Samaritan in Glenorchy. Currently the Project is being conducted in other parts of the State by the Crime Prevention Council, Police and Insurance Companies. The Project aims to provide information to shop owners and businesses about securing their business against a range of crimes including burglary, vandalism and fraud.
Council Department
Partnership
Action 5 Conduct seminars in partnership with the Crime Prevention Council of Tasmania and Community Safety Committee.
It is the intention of the Crime Prevention and Community Safety Council to develop partnerships between community and Government to focus on crime prevention. Business associations around the State have been asked of their interest in attending a series of seminars over lunch to discuss issues about personal safety, shoplifting protecting business property, and fraud. A Northern Business Working Group has been formed under the auspices of the Council and consists of representatives from the Retail Traders Association of Tasmania (RTA), Cityprom, Licensing Commission and Tasmania Police. Strong support and some sponsorship has come from CGU, and Insurance Company.
Council Department
64 Safe and Sound: building a strong and confident community. A Safer Community Strategy
Partnerships
Action 6 The use of bans and trespass notices are increasing. Exclusive strategies that seek to ban or push away the public and turn away potential customers are bad for business and create conflict in the community and for shop workers. It is often costly to implement if legal advice is sought or if a court action occurs as a result.
Develop inclusive strategies that do not seek to push away business, impose unrealistic conditions on business or place workers in unsafe or vulnerable working environments. Many of these strategies have been used across the country particularly in shopping centres and cinemas and malls, the work of Rob White based at University of Tasmania and Adam Sutton (2000)27 is recommended in this regard, which could be developed and targeted to assist the specific issues identified in the research project.
Council Department
Partnerships
27 White and Sutton (2000) ibid
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Part Three Implementation and Evaluation Chapter 8 Implementation and evaluation The implementation of the Strategy will require a whole of Council and whole of community approach. The issues that have been identified for the City of Glenorchy go beyond the control of Council so partnerships must be developed with Federal and State Government to implement the Strategy and tackle community safety.
Who, when, and why? The “Broad Brush” approach to social development outlined in Chapter 6 provides a foundation for cohesion of the community and the building of protective factors to balance the current risk factors. The targeted strategies in Chapter 7 are in addition to this. Each of the actions are medium to long term as there are no “quick fix” solutions, however, it is possible to see some short term outcomes. The plan in Chapter 6 enables Council to identify Departments to work together in partnership within Council as well as partnerships outside of Council with State and Federal Government.
Community Safety Officer and partnerships A Community Safety Officer position has been designated in Council and will assist in identifying partnerships when the position is filled at the implementation of this strategy. It is recommended that the position description be re-vamped. This position can not work in isolation, so the identifying of the relevant partnerships within Council will be important. Further, the position cannot incorporate both policy development and practice.
The Community Safety Committee plays a vital role in the Strategy. The terms of reference for the Committee should be re-considered, along with suitable representatives to participate on the Committee. For example it needs an adequate cross-section of the community and Government including representation of young people, indigenous people, the elderly and those from a variety of diverse backgrounds.
In addition to the Community Safety Committee, other groups will also have an interest in the implementation of the Strategy –
Precinct Committees Youth Taskforce Glenorchy Better Business Association the Police Service Access Committee
Education and training is also an important part of implementation to ensure that the Council and community understand what community safety is and how to do it.
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Evaluation Evaluation is a tool for assessing the effectiveness and cost efficiency of actions, programs and policies used by government, non-government and business. It can range from simply a description of the program, where it was implemented, who and how many were involved through to a detailed analysis involving random allocation of people and control group mechanisms. As a guide, it has been suggested that 5- 10% of the cost of a project should be allocated to evaluation.
Both the Pathways Report (1999) and the Sherman Report (1997) emphasise the need for evaluation of crime prevention projects and programs, without which it is impossible to know what is working and what is cost effective.
The Pathways Report considers that not all services or programs need detailed evaluation since this would be expensive. It suggests that it may be better to put more money into looking at one or two examples of types of program or service.
The Sherman Report is critical of the current quality of evaluations in the United States. It found that often it was not able to be specific about the effectiveness or otherwise of programs it reviewed for the Report because even where there were evaluations, they had significant flaws which affected their reliability. Overall, it prefers rigorous testing of all programs.
There is no reason to suppose that the situation in Australia is any different to that in the United States. The Social and Economic Stress Report for example, notes that given the current state of knowledge it is not possible to be certain of what programs are most cost effective in meeting the stated aim of reducing the conditions which foster child neglect.
Managing for outcomes When developing programs and putting action into place, evaluation or at least some questions of measurement should be considered, such as why have these programs, what are the intended (and unintended) outcomes and what is achievable and how will we know we have achieved them? Some simple measures or benchmarks should be put in place, that goes beyond just recording numbers such as how many attended the programs, but record outcomes.
A drop in crime statistics is an obvious benchmark and is one outcome. However, other useful data maybe relating to some of the risk factors associated with crime, such as truancy levels or school exclusion, drug and alcohol use or child abuse data. The level of community cohesion or the connection of a group of people with their community such as attending school, getting a job or finding somewhere safe and stable to live, are outcomes that are important to crime prevention and community safety.
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Data for evaluation purposes can be obtained from: 28 Official statistics Crime and other information from police Crime and other information from the community surveys Selected performance indicators used in the crime prevention program Data collected by partner agencies as part of their core business on factors relevant to crime (eg injuries relating to assault, child abuse notifications).
Obviously data collection and analysis are the most important thing to consider in evaluation. Adequate systems needs to be developed in order to record and analyse data. In interpreting data for evaluation purposes, care must be taken to avoid simple assumptions about cause and effect. If crime rates fall after the introduction of crime prevention strategies, it may not necessarily be directly as a result of those strategies. Other factors may have been operating independently that reduced the level of crime, such as a decrease in unemployment rates, or the opening of a new recreational facility.29
Evaluations will therefore take account of other related developments which may have an impact on crime, and test these against the program‟s outcomes.
Context and approaches Ideally evaluation frameworks should be developed at the time of developing actions and programs.
Process evaluation is a methodology of measuring processes that occur along the way throughout the life of the program. It charts the history of a program and examines how things work (or do not work) in a program and raises questions about why things happen the way they do30.
Impact evaluation attempts to measure results in terms of achieving program objectives especially those objectives situated higher in the hierarchy of outcomes.
Programs work or have successful outcomes only in so far as they introduce the appropriate ideas and opportunities to groups in the appropriate social and cultural conditions.
It is important to understand the context of the program, who are the targets on intervention and circumstances in which they operated.
It is important to understand the mechanisms why your program has worked or not worked. Some programs or responses maybe detrimental and good evaluation should document how, why and at what cost.
28 Shipway and Homel (199) ibid 29 Shipway and Homel (1999) ibid 30 Murray G et al (1993) A Framework for Evaluation at the Local Level. Youth and Community Combined Action Program. Final Report. Centre for Crime Policy and Public Safety.
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It is important to ensure that monitoring and evaluation are properly co-ordinated in projects involving two or more partners in crime prevention programs, so that data collected is compatible and are measuring the same thing or comparing the same thing. Sometimes data are not recorded in the same manner from year to year with the change in policy or systems.
It would also be important to provide support and training for evaluation, especially if it is being conducted within the partnership (rather than by an independent evaluation).
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