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Canberra Today 15°/20° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Canberra’s confidence grows in trusting its community: report

CANBERRANS feel the safest in their capital city comparably to others around the country, according to a 2019-20 report on government services.

That public trust extends to not only their community, but to the territory’s key authorities in charge of the ACT.

The Productivity Commission released data this week that suggested community safety in Canberra remained above the national average in all categories.

More than 92 percent of Canberrans feel safe at both walking alone in their neighbourhood during the day and inside their home alone at night.

Despite just over 72 per cent surveyed feeling safe on public transport during the day that drops down to little more than 41 per cent at night, the approval is still well above the average of the six state capitals.

“This is a testament to the continued trust and confidence of the ACT community in ACT policing, whose strong performance during a particularly testing year demonstrates their commitment to serving the Canberra community,” Minister for Police and Emergency Services Mick Gentleman said.

“We’ve also made improvements to streetlights and footpaths across the city to make Canberrans feel safer in town centres and public areas.”

The ACT also has the lowest victimisation rate per for homicide and related offences and is well below the national victimisation rate for sexual assault and unlawful entry with intent.

Recidivism among ex-corrective services detainees returning back to prison fell in the 2019-20 period to 37.1 per cent, almost 10 per cent below the national average.

Confidence extends to the ACT fire and rescue services as having one of the country’s fastest response times.

In the wake of Canberra’s Black Summer fires, the response times range between 9.6 and 10.9 minutes for crews to arrive on the scene.

The total number of fire incidents attended has been reduced for the third consecutive year from 961 to 881 – down by 8.3 per cent – since the 2016-17 period.

But the ACTSES had attended to 1782 total incidents in 2019-20, an increase of 210 per cent from 574 only 12 months earlier and also received 3,674 requests for assistance from the community following the territory’s largest hailstorm in January 2020.

“I am proud of the commitment, courage and professionalism of all members of ACTF&R, ACTAS, ACTRFS and ACTSES, who achieved impressive results in such a challenging year,” Mr Gentleman said.

“Prioritising community safety and education during an emergency remains one of the ACT government’s main focuses as our city continues to grow.”

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Thank you,

Ian Meikle, editor

Andrew Mathieson

Andrew Mathieson

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