The latest release of crime statistics prove one thing beyond doubt; Ballarat is no longer a country town. Given this, it is surprising and no doubt frustrating that many residents continue to act as if it was. Much of the escalating number of thefts including of and from cars are thefts of opportunity and nothing is more tempting to the lazy and unscrupulous than unlocked cars or doors. The police no doubt are tired of saying ‘make it hard for thieves’. Many of these crimes are committed by the same unsophisticated criminals – arrant juvenile delinquents in some cases - who by their nature are short on creative intelligence and averse to hard work. The message is clear enough; make them work harder. Those who have suffered the indignity of a burglary or car theft will take some satisfaction in the frustration it is easy to inflict on these miscreants. For these lower levels of crime, the power is with the community and some decisive prevention would see a significant drop in the figures
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But as city of 100,000 people we have significant serious crimes that continues to grow. For drugs, reporting numbers relate generally people who are caught in possession, use or trafficking and while the number shows there is a lot of drug use in the community it also shows the increasing number who are being caught.
Similarly an escalating number of family violence incidents show while the problem is widespread and a social scourge that has escalated to national attention and urgency, there is some comfort in the rising reported incident numbers. It indicates how much more seriously the community and the police are taking a once invisible terror. The same could be said of the rapid escalation in breaches of judicial orders, Reporting them indicates the community’s gravity toward them. The question of their efficacy and whether perpetrators take court orders seriously enough is another matter .
Lastly as a bigger regional city, the crime rate is significant but that does not mean we should simply accept it. It has been said before how much of this high rate of 6,000 reports per hundred thousand people are committed by a very small number. The social, economic, ethical and sometimes mental causes for this recidivism are many and complex. But this should not deter the community from considering more focused and diverse solutions.
