Safety

Introduction

Safety is fundamental: violence and avoidable injuries, at their most extreme, threaten life itself. In other cases, they reduce the quality of life for the victim and other people in various ways.

Both safety and security are important. Safety is freedom from physical or emotional harm, while security is freedom from the threat or fear of harm or danger. The desired outcomes recognise threats come in many forms, ranging from deliberate violence to accidental injury.

Reducing interpersonal violence in families and communities is critical to people's safety. Physical injury causes pain and incapacity, reducing victims’ enjoyment of life and their ability to do things that are important to them.

Property crime, such as burglary, also affects people’s wellbeing. In addition to the direct losses associated with crime of this sort, evidence suggests the threat of burglary is a more significant worry for many people than the threat of violence.⁹⁹

Psychological effects are often as important as the physical ones. Victims of violence or injury often retain emotional scars long after their physical wounds have healed. They may suffer from depression or face other mental health issues.

Crime affects not only individuals but also society as a whole. The victim’s family and friends are likely to suffer grief and anger. They may have to care for someone who is temporarily or permanently incapacitated and who may lose their livelihood. Crime and the fear of crime may also reduce social cohesion within communities.

Crime may restrict people’s choices about how to live their lives. For example, they may stay away from certain areas or avoid going out because of a fear of crime.

The costs to society as a whole range from the expense of hospital care and law enforcement to the loss of the victim’s input into their work and community. Children who grow up surrounded by violence may themselves become violent adults, perpetuating a negative cycle.

Indicators

Four indicators are used in this chapter: assault mortality, criminal victimisation, fear of crime and road casualties. The first three indicators provide a picture of the level and impact of violence in the community.

Assault mortality provides a picture of intentional violence across society. This indicator measures deaths resulting from violence, the tip of the violence pyramid. Young children and youth are particularly vulnerable.

Measuring criminal victimisation from police records is difficult, as many crimes are not reported to the police. This is particularly true of domestic violence, sexual violence and child abuse. The second indicator uses survey results to give a more comprehensive picture of the level of criminal victimisation in society, including the level of violence.

The third indicator is fear of crime. Feeling unsafe causes anxiety and reduces people's options in life. However, there is some evidence fear is not necessarily linked to the actual risk of becoming a crime victim. For example, people may feel unsafe even when the actual likelihood of their being victimised is relatively small.

People should also be able to live in a society free from the risk of avoidable death or injury. The leading cause of avoidable injury and death is motor vehicle crashes. In economic terms, the social cost of motor vehicle crashes has been estimated at $3.1b annually.¹⁰⁰ The final indicator is road casualties.

Workplace accidents are another form of avoidable injury. They are discussed in the chapter on Paid Work.