Melbourne: Australian state of Victoria,
which had witnessed a spate of attacks on Indians has recorded
a drop in crime figures in the past year, police said.
Street assaults dropped by 6.8 per cent, however overall
number of assaults rose by 2.3 per cent mainly due to domestic
violence, they said.
"Much of this rise can be attributed to an increase in
family violence. However we are continuing to see a pleasing
decrease in street violence, with the number of street
assaults down across the state by 6.8 per cent," Victorian
Police Commissioner Simon Overland said in a statement.
Nearly 100 cases of attacks on Indians, mostly students,
were reported in Australia in 2009. Nitin Garg, a 21-year-old
student who was stabbed to death here in Melbourne by
unidentified assailants, was the first victim of such attacks.
We will continue to tackle violent crime, target
anti-social behaviour and reckless motorists who endanger
others, he said.
The drop of 6.8 per cent in street assaults refers to a
drop in incidents recorded at street locations during the year
from 9173 to 8552, excluding family violence.
Overall crime dropped by 6.3 per cent in the year.
According to a AAP report today, the number of assaults
rose from 617.8 per 100,000 people to 631.9.
Assaults also rose the previous year, while assault
and rape increased by 32 and 14 per cent respectively in the
seven years to 2007-08, the report said.
"The 2.3 per cent rise in assaults remains a concern and
demonstrates there is still more work to be done in this
area," Overland said.
The positives included targeted police operations and
improved community awareness resulting in an 11 per cent drop
in theft from cars, he said.
"But building safer communities is not just a job for
police and I would remind everyone that the general public has
a role to play in keeping themselves and others safe," he
added.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, June 03, 2010, 18:02