The Hodgman Liberal Government has a clear plan to tackle crime and keep the community safe.
ABC stats released yesterday confirm our plan is working, with the average numbers of offenders since we came to government sitting at 10,817 per year. This is well down from the Labor-Green Government that averaged 12,569 offenders per year, including a whopping 14,184 in 2011-12.
The Labor-Green Government cut police numbers, which gave criminals the green light. We took the opposite approach, as common sense will tell you that you can’t tackle crime without a strong police service. Police numbers remain on track to reach 1233 by 2018, in line with our election commitment.
It’s just one of the ways in which the Hodgman Government is serious about improving law and order. We’ve introduced mandatory sentences for serious assaults on police and will seek to expand that protection to other frontline workers. We’re also phasing out suspended sentences so if you do the crime, you do the time.
While Labor and the Greens will always make excuses for why they are soft on crime, the Hodgman Government will do everything we can to keep the community safe.
More Media Releases from the Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Management