4515.6 - Community Safety, Tasmania, Oct 1998  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 26/05/1999   
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MEDIA RELEASE

May 26, 1999
Embargoed: 11:30 AM (AEST)
61/1999

ABS survey: Is your community safe?

Just over three quarters of Tasmanians aged 18 years and over believed that their neighbourhood had some crime or public nuisance problems, according to the results of an October 1998 Tasmanian Community Safety Survey released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The most commonly identified problems were housebreaking, dangerous/noisy driving and theft from motor vehicles.

Almost all (96.7%) Tasmanians aged 18 and over believed there was a chance that their home could be broken into, with 84.3% either worried or very worried at the prospect of this.

The survey also showed that 95.5% believed there was a chance that their home or motor vehicle could be subject to unlawful damage and that 90.5% thought they were at risk of being attacked or threatened by a stranger.

Concern about the safety of public places at night was also expressed, particularly by victims of a crime. An estimated 86.3% (40,300) of those who had experienced victimisation believed public toilets to be unsafe and 82.5% (38,500) perceived parks to be unsafe. Other public places commonly perceived to be unsafe by victims of crime included car parks (73.0%), bus terminals, bus malls and bus stops (65.5%) and shopping centres and shopping malls (64.2%).

Almost 60.9% (207,900) of Tasmanians aged 18 years and over had been the victim of some sort of crime. House breakings (26.0%) and motor vehicle breakings (25.9%) were most commonly experienced, while 12.1% (21,200) of females aged 18 and over had been victims of sexual assault.

Further details are in Community Safety, Tasmania, October 1998 (cat. no. 4515.6) available from ABS bookshops.