Creating safer communities

We are working hard to ensure our communities remain safe by:

• reducing crime and anti-social behaviour

• expanding services to support victims of crime

• making our court system more efficient and effective

Reducing crime rates

We will continue to reduce crime and anti social behaviour including street racing, alcohol related crime and criminal gangs by providing high visibility policing through operations such as Operation Viking.

Reduce re-offending

Repeat offenders generally commit their first crime as juveniles and evidence shows that interventions at this time generally have better results than later interventions.

That is why we are committed to expanding the use of early intervention programs, particularly to reduce juvenile crime and re-offending, for example the Intensive Supervision Program that works with young offenders and their families on the reasons they commit crime.

We will reduce court appearances by young people through better use of warnings, cautions and Youth Justice Conferencing

We will provide support programs which divert offenders to appropriate alternative programs for example Magistrates Early Referral in Treatment (MERIT) and Court Referred Eligible Defendants into Treatment (CREDIT)

Improving the court system

We are working make NSW courts more efficient and effective through:

• continuing with our reforms to make it easier to resolve civil and non-criminal disputes and to make sure that justice is fair, quick and cost effective

• increasing the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution and resolving disputes through means other than judicial or court-based decisions

• improving support for victims of crime in the court system, particularly victims of domestic and family violence, sexual assault and hate based crimes

• on-going investment in video conferencing technology to help courts to provide alternatives to court attendance, especially for vulnerable people, and

• the introduction of JusticeLink, an IT system to link justice agencies and facilitate data sharing, which will make services available electronically to the community and the legal profession, substantially reducing the need to attend court in person.

Supporting victims of crime

We are expanding services to support victims of crime including a Victim Access Line to provide one access point to all information and services that they may require during their contact with the criminal justice system. This will mean that a victim will now have a single contact point to apply for compensation and counselling, inquire about their court case and register or inquire about an offender’s progress, or gain access to the Witness Assistance Service or Victim’s register.