As I write this, a helicopter is buzzing above me. I assume it is a police helicopter, as those are the most frequently seen in the sky. They fly around every night, monitoring all sorts of criminal activity.

Apparently, something is working to combat this activity. Yesterday, National Security Minister Peter Bunting reported in Parliament “double digit” drops in most forms of “serious and violent” crimes.

“Serious and violent crimes (are) down year-to-date on average by double digit percentages (with) murder by 11 per cent, shooting by six per cent, rape by 17 per cent, and aggravated assault down 26 per cent,” Bunting told Tuesday’s sitting of the House of Representatives.

He also pointed to a major reduction in fatal police shooting, which is down by 46 per cent year-to-date. Acquisitory crimes such as robberies, have declined by 11 per cent.

Bunting lauded the government’s new laws that target organized crime, which have resulted in the arrest of 600 people to date, he stated.

As a journalist, I know that numbers like this can always be manipulated. I’m not suggesting this is the case, but it is always more instructive and revealing to see the raw data. Perhaps the JCF will release it soon. In the meantime, it does indeed seem like good news if one looks at these numbers in an isolated manner.