New national figures show Tasmanians are among the most satisfied with their police service.

The latest Report on Government Services shows 75.6% of Tasmanians surveyed were either satisfied or very satisfied with the level of services provided by police over the past year.

The figure represents the second highest satisfaction rate of any Australian jurisdiction.

As well, the report shows Tasmanians’ perceptions of safety continue to rate either the highest or second highest of any jurisdiction.

96.2% of Tasmanians surveyed felt safe or very safe at home alone during the day, and 88.9% after dark.

91.7% felt safe or very safe walking or jogging locally during the day, with 53.7 feeling safe or very safe walking or jogging locally after dark.

The Productivity Commission report is an important accountability tool, providing information to the community on the relative efficiency and effectiveness of government services in each jurisdiction.

According to the report, Tasmania scored well in relation to each of the main performance indicators.

The Tasmanian results from the National Survey of Community Satisfaction with Policing 2010-11 continue to rate the highest or second highest of any jurisdiction.

Tasmanians’ perceptions of police integrity as defined by three separate measures from the National Survey, continued to remain high and well above the national average. These measures include questions about police professionalism, honesty and whether police treat people fairly and equally.

The percentage of Tasmanians who are concerned about ‘speeding cars, dangerous or noisy driving’ in their local neighbourhood has declined compared to previous years and is now comparable with the national average (72.5% compared to 72.2% nationally).

Tasmania’s juvenile diversions as a proportion of juvenile offenders continue to be greater than other jurisdictions (at 60%, up from 58% in 2009-10). This is a positive result as it illustrates the strong commitment to diversionary approaches.

In comparison with the national average, Tasmania Police recorded a higher proportion of investigations finalised at 30 days for most offence types. 

In 2010-11 the proportion of prosecutions where costs were awarded against the police was low in all jurisdictions, and especially here, while Tasmania Police received 30 complaints against police per 100,000 people in the year – the second lowest of all jurisdictions.

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