State's crime rate falls dramatically

The Advertiser: State's crime rate falls dramatically ]:

"While sexual offences have risen by 10.9 per cent between 2002 and 2004, offences against people have dropped 11.5 per cent over the same period."

I gather sexual offences are not offences against people. What is is with the media lately? There have been some hideous sexual offences just recently and they have become more frequent whether they are being reported more often than not or not. It's the sort of thing you find out about pretty quickly because it's how Adelaide operates. People need to know whether to look out for their family or not. Adelaide is the sort of place where there is live and let live but any sort of threat goes very quickly around the grapevine. I was just talking to the neighbour yesterday about how I had been out walking and really enjoying it and then had to stop because we have had more attacks around here lately. It happens around different areas at different times and it is really annoying that you just can't go out and walk. You have to take the car. Then you have to lock the car while you are driving it. I've actually lived in tougher places than this and felt much safer. Some people were blaming the sexual attacks on our extended warm weather? What about the rock attacks? Our extended cold weather? Maybe weather does play a part but most people are living proof that you can have weather and still be sociable and socialized. Anti social behaviour is simply that. I see it in very black and white terms. People are anti social because they have no regard and no respect for others. They may have all sorts of reasons for being like that but as beings which can think and feel we have the capacity to reason and rationalise. Those who can't don't try to and then have to be brought to a situation where they learn those thoughts. In the meantime they can chuck rocks though car windows, graffiti, vandalise, rape. There's a whole lot of anger out there. Why? The approach by Scotland Yard seemed to be having a lot of success in England. It seemed a very sensible approach and I value that. I do not believe in being draconian. I do believe we are dealing with human beings and while they are playing uproar we just have to keep very level headed in our response and not drawn into upping the ante in their game by playing a better game of uproar ourselves.