Having a police officer inspect your home following a burglary or an instance of property damage may soon be a thing of the past in Canberra.

Over the next year ACT Policing is looking to expand their online reporting system to include property-related crimes in lieu of police attending the scene of the crime.

It is expected people will be able to self-report incidents such as vandalism, minor property damage, minor burglaries (where there is little evidentiary material) and other matters.

Currently ACT Policing maintain online platforms to report historical sexual assaults and minor traffic collisions.

ACT Chief Police Officer, Neil Gaughan, told ABC Radio Canberra this morning officers will be “less responsive to some of the property crime we have been to in the past”.

The shift to online is part of a concerted effort from ACT Policing to reallocate resources toward more serious matters where there is greater risk of harm or a threat to life.

“Resources are tight, as they are in every sector — so we find this is going to be more efficient,” CPO Gaughan said.

“If it’s a real time issue, if someone is at your house, we will be there. But if you find out your house has been broken into and there’s no obvious signs, forensic evidence, we will be asking people to do an online report,” he said.

Australian Federal Police Association (AFPA) president, Alex Caruana, told Canberra Daily they do support “some crime types” moving to online report such as ‘cold’ theft, property damage such as graffiti or ‘cold’ burglary offences where the victim is unable to provide any evidence to the offence. 

An ACT Policing spokesperson told Canberra Daily they are “exploring a range of modern ways” the community can report incidents, crimes and other matters.

“Ultimately, online reporting will provide convenience for the community, and will allow police to better respond to incidents where immediate police assistance is required,” they said.

Shadow Police Minister, Jeremy Hanson, said the move toward online reporting of property crimes is “an extremely concerning change”.

“This sends a greenlight to criminals who will know a certain level of crime may not even receive a visit from police,” he said.

“Frankly, this a direct result of the fact that there are not enough police in the ACT, as has been stated repeatedly by me and by police themselves.”

The AFPA expressed scepticism that the online platform would lead to a spike in property crime.

“The online process may encourage more people to report crime to police, which in turn, may increase the reports of crimes, but it’s debatable if it would lead to an increase in offending,” Mr Caruana said.

Online reporting push ‘ultimately a resources issue’

While the move will improve efficiency, the AFPA say this issue is a symptom of low officer numbers, a matter that has existed for “some time”.

“Of concern to the AFPA is that ultimately, this is a resources issue,” Mr Caruana said.

The AFPA pointed out that the ACT has the lowest number of police officers per 100,000 people in Australia.

“This puts pressure and stress on the hardworking members of ACT Policing,” he said.

In 2019 the ACT Government committed $33.9 million to fund 60 additional staff for ACT Policing.

“It’s now late 2021, and we still aren’t sure how, and if that commitment will be met and by when or what that money has, or will be spent on,” Mr Caruana said.

Mr Caruana said that to bring the ACT police officer per 100,000 population figure in line with NSW figure, ACT Policing would have to recruit “around 250 officers”.

Minister for Policing and Emergency Services Mick Gentleman defended the level of funding the ACT Government allocate toward ACT Policing.

“ACT Policing’s workforce continues to grow and welcome new members,” he said.

Ninety-eight recruits graduated and have joined ACT Policing in the last financial year.

“The deployment of these new recruits is delivering on our commitment to grow police numbers across Canberra.

Mr Gentleman also noted ACT police numbers “cannot easily be compared” to other jurisdictions that cover larger geographical areas.

“The ACT is a unique jurisdiction not only in its size but as a large metropolitan area,” he said.

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