Crime across northern Tasmania has dropped 7% in the past year, but police say youth offending and dangerous driving remain concerns.
Northern District Commander Marco Ghedini announced the figures at Launceston Police Station on Friday.
He said the result amounted to about 700 fewer offences across the district.
“That’s a fantastic result both for police and for the Tasmanian community,” Ghedini said.
Property offences fell 10.4% overall. Business burglaries dropped 35.6%, while shoplifting was down 15.4%, a reduction of 250 offences.
Stolen motor vehicle offences fell 7.5% and police seized 147 illicit firearms. Public order incidents also dropped 6.6%, a reduction of 314 offences.
Commander Ghedini said officers had stepped up checks on offenders who were out on bail.
“Those bail checks have increased by 3,085 checks on offenders who are subject to bail conditions,” he said.
“That supports our approach of holding offenders to account.”
He credited Taskforce Raven, which was set up to target repeat offenders, with much of the work.
Since it began, the taskforce has made 218 arrests, laid 2,027 charges and seized 23 firearms and 11 tasers.
It has also cleared 439 offence reports and recovered $88,000 worth of stolen property.
Commander Ghedini said the success came from focusing on a small group of people.
“We’re aware that there are only a small portion of the population that choose to do the wrong thing and that commit crime,” he said.
But not all the numbers improved. Youth prosecutions rose 14%.
Commander Ghedini said the aim was to keep young people out of court, not simply arrest them.
“We don’t want to see any young person come before the criminal justice system,” he said.
“It’s about working with youth and communities to identify appropriate pathways for young people to be diverted down.”
Road safety was another weak spot. Police infringement notices jumped 31.7%, while the number of traffic offenders detected rose 27%.
Commander Ghedini called the driving figures “exceptionally disappointing”, but said they showed police were active on the roads.
Asked why repeat offenders were still out in the community, he drew a line between police and the courts.
“Police will always do their part,” he said. “The courts sit completely separate and independently, as they should.”
Commander Ghedini said public tip-offs had helped drive the results and urged people to keep reporting crime on 131 444 or through Crime Stoppers.
