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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-02-26 Daily Xml
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POLICE, UNLEY

Mr PISONI (Unley) (15:26): Last year I wrote to both the police minister and the Commissioner highlighting my concerns relating to the lack of police presence at Unley. As yet, I have received no response. Statistics offered by SAPOL do not reflect an increase in criminal activity at Unley; however, the increasing frequency of calls to my office regarding local law and order and my discussions with many residents and business owners indicates otherwise.

On investigation, the broader concern revealed that much of what is sometimes termed as 'soft crime' is going unreported due to the perception that nothing will be achieved by reporting incidents. This is why we see no increase in crime: people have given up in Unley. They have given up reporting crimes that happen, particularly break-ins or shoplifting. I know of at least one business owner who sleeps on his premises in an attempt to safeguard it from criminals targeting Unley businesses at night.

Police presence in Unley appears minimal, with patrols providing response calls coming from either Netley or Sturt, both some considerable distance away. An inconspicuous police shopfront at Malvern with limited service hours and personnel does not act as a deterrent to those coming into the area for the sole purpose of committing criminal acts. The hard-working police stationed at Malvern do the best job with the resources allocated to them; however, as the facility is only open during the day, much of the crime committed in the area occurs outside of their watch. Criminals are aware of this and, in any event, do not generally keep office hours. This was highlighted on 5 January when armed robbers targeted the Malvern Dominos store, which is only a few metres away from the Malvern police shopfront facility. Either the robbers knew that the station was closed or it is so inconspicuous, hidden away in the corner of the shopping centre; you would need to know where it is that they did not even notice it.

The shopfront approach to law enforcement is merely window-dressing. The armed robbery incident clearly indicates that SAPOL's presence in Unley is not acting as an effective deterrent. A more prominent police facility with provision for locally-based patrols is required in my electorate to service the Unley and nearby inner suburban areas. Inner Adelaide areas like Unley seem to have been forgotten by the Rann government, with insufficient resources made available to police. We are seeing how the politics of this is played in the seat of Norwood, for example, where we have a new fire station but no crew. The only consideration in the placement of that fire station was politics and holding the seat of Norwood for the Labor Party. I am sure that the people of Norwood will be pleased to get a crew when that complication is finally worked out.

A recent spate of robberies targeting designer clothing businesses, hotels and schools, as well as food and vandalism crime associated with the derelict former Julia Farr buildings on Fisher Street, have highlighted the need for a visible manned station presence with patrol capacity. While I have worked through possible improvements with SAPOL representatives, the underlying problem is the availability and allocation of resources. There is a lot to be said for local policing: police who know the area they work in, the people, its character and what makes it tick.

In my electorate of Unley, character housing, streetscape and significant trees issues are taken very seriously. Recently, a developer moved to cut down a significant tree in contravention of council instructions and to the great alarm of neighbours. Council staff were alerted immediately by locals and they arrived to prevent the destruction, but were physically denied access by the developers to the block. Although alerted, a police patrol did not arrive until some time later, after the tree had been cut down. Penalties may, of course, be imposed on the developer, but the damage has been done. Locally-based police with a patrol capacity would have been in a better position to appreciate the situation and act accordingly. Graffiti and general vandalism are also disturbing and growing local patterns.

The Mid-Year Budget Review revealed a windfall of $2 billion in extra state-based taxes, GST revenue and government grants available to the Rann government over the next four years. This, as we know, is in addition to its existing record tax revenues. With Unley taxpayers, in particular small business owners who have been recently targeted, paying more than their fair share of state taxes, such as payroll tax, land tax and stamp duties, they deserve a better service.

Given this advantageous revenue situation, and the obvious need, I do not accept the Rann government's lack of funds to improve police resources and provide an adequate local patrol facility for the taxpaying residents and businesses of Unley.

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