NSW Labor says the conduct of the Police Minister in NSW Parliament is a clear indication of its attitude towards the prevention of sexual and indecent assault, after he tried to claim the number had stabilised across the state.
Minister Grant attempted to claim the number had ‘spiked’, while the latest data from the Bureau of Crime Statistics (BOCSAR) shows it has steadily increased over the past five years.
This includes:
-
Sexual assault
-
Inner South West (up 37.8%)
-
Baulkham Hills and Hawkesbury (up 43.3%)
-
Ryde (up 42.2%)
-
Indecent assault, act of indecency and other sexual offences
-
Sydney City
-
Inner South (up 30.6%)
-
Ryde (up 46.6%)
Shadow Police Minister Guy Zangari has accused the NSW Government of penny pinching on police services, following a damning Productivity Commission report which revealed funding had been cut to its lowest level in five years. Mr Zangari says our police force must be fully resourced in order to prevent shocking crimes like sexual and indecent assault.
Shadow Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault and Acting Shadow Minister for Women Jenny Aitchison has called on the Berejiklian Government to release its long overdue Sexual Assault Strategy, which was promised in October 2015.
Quotes attributable to Shadow Police Minister Guy Zangari
“The facts reported by BOCSAR are clear- sexual and indecent assaults are on the rise. The fact that the Minister is trying to refute that on the floor of Parliament is ridiculous and falls nothing short of an insult against those who are victims of those heinous crimes.
“Minister Grant needs to come clean and reassure the community that he will do everything it takes to ensure that the NSW police force have the resources to curb this growing problem.”
Quotes attributable to Shadow Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault and Acting Shadow Minister for Women Jenny Aitchison
“Any Government has a fundamental duty to keep its community safe from sexual assault. The Berejiklian Government has failed to deliver a sexual assault strategy in over two years.
“The Berejiklian Government has its head in the sand when it comes to sexual assault because they are incapable of addressing the problem. They need to properly invest in the NSW police force to prevent any further increases in sexual assault.
“We know that reports of sexual assaults are just the tip of the iceberg. How many more sexual assaults are going unreported while this Government fails to properly resource our hard working police?”
