Fear over rise in aggression
One-third of West Australians feel less safe in public spaces and seven out of 10 believe society is more aggressive, a survey has found.
The HBF Wellness Survey, by Painted Dog Research, revealed 72 per cent of respondents felt WA society was getting more aggressive.
A quarter of those surveyed attributed this to a rise in violent crime, 22 per cent said road rage was a key factor and 19 per cent said increased alcohol abuse was to blame.
An individualistic society with no manners and little community spirit was cited by 14 per cent as a factor in the aggressiveness. Crime figures on the WA Police website show there were 79 homicide investigations from June to April.
Insp. Dominic Wood said though the violent crime rate had risen at the beginning of the year, it was now dropping.
"There can be a perception crime and antisocial behaviour might be rising because of increases in the way the public can capture incidents and images and report what they see online," he said. "This does not mean there is an actual increase. Some of this reporting often helps the police to bring offenders to justice even more quickly."
University of WA Crime Research Centre Associate Professor David Indermaur agreed. He said perception played a big role in feelings of security. "I don't think we are getting more violent or aggressive but the survey shows people are less tolerant," he said.
Professor Indermaur said the type of violence people were worried about - murders, armed robberies and street violence - were the "tip of the iceberg" and bigger issues such as domestic violence were hidden from view.
Emergency doctor Dave Mountain said he believed violence was largely driven by drunkenness.
"The huge amounts people are drinking nowadays - a recent report found some people preloaded with more than 30 drinks - this is having an impact," he said.
