On Thursday 6th March Glen Innes Severn Council held a roundtable meeting to discuss community concerns about crime and vandalism that has affected several local businesses over recent months and years.
The meeting was proposed in response to a petition that was signed by a large number of Glen Innes businesses and employees urging Council to install CCTV cameras throughout the Glen Innes CBD, allowing perpetrators to be identified and to provide evidence of crimes to assist with successful prosecution.
The crimes have caused significant stress to business owners in addition to significant costs involved in repairing doors, windows and replacing stolen stock. Several of the affected businesses have been targeted multiple times. At least one business owner made the decision to close their business as a result.
At the meeting were Mayor Margot Davis, Council General Manager Bernard Smith, several Councillors and other Council staff. Member for Northern Tablelands Brendan Moylan, officer in charge of Glen Innes Police Station James Parsons, representatives from a number of local organisations including the High School addressed or made comment at the meeting. A small number of affected business owners and representatives from the Chamber of Commerce were also in attendance.
Dr Alana Cook from NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) provided the meeting with local crime statistics and explained how they compare with other communities in the region. The number of occurrences of criminal behaviour in the Glen Innes area is below that of other nearby communities, but in many crime categories the figures are higher than the state average. Crime data displayed on a map overlay demonstrated that, of the criminal activity that happens in our area, a high proportion of the offences are happening in the Glen Innes CBD and its immediate surrounds.
Inspector James Parsons spoke about resourcing issues that are impacting regional areas, including Glen Innes. He said that staffing is an ongoing problem that prevents the local police from being able to operate at full capacity. Inspector Parsons told the meeting about the “Be a Cop in your Home Town” recruitment initiative currently being run by NSW Police Force which makes it easier for new police recruits to work in their home town after they have completed training. Anyone who is interested in finding out more about this initiative are encouraged to speak to Inspector Parsons at Glen Innes Police Station where he will be happy to assist.
MP Brendan Moylan addressed the meeting about the need for reform of legislation, particularly as it relates to young offenders. Mr Moylan recently gave notice in Parliament of the introduction of the ‘Regional Youth Crime Reform Bill,’ aiming to address ongoing concerns about youth crime in regional New South Wales. He encouraged the owners of businesses that have been victims of crime to email his office with details about what had occurred so that he can present these stories to Parliament. The email address to send these to is northerntablelands@parliament.nsw.gov.au.
One of the business owners who addressed the meeting fought back tears as they described the criminal activity that they regularly witness and the effect that has on their wellbeing.
Glen Innes Severn Council Mayor, Margot Davis, said “the meeting was well attended by all key stakeholders and a good discussion was held on public safety and youth crime. Council will continue to facilitate the conversation and look for local solutions and continue to lobby for our local area”.
Some owners of businesses that have been affected by crime in recent months have questioned why they weren’t invited to participate in the meeting. In response, Mayor Margot Davis said “This was a Roundtable of key stakeholders as an initial step to understanding the problem and hearing from police, schools, community service organisations, BOSCA and youth service providers and several business owners were invited to share their stories as well as the business chamber and petition organiser. It wasn’t a community forum for all businesses affected but we can consider doing this more or creating a mechanism for businesses to provide impact statements and further insights in the future. This is one step and there are many more to take.”
