The social media page, Gunnedah Neighbourhood and Rural Watch, which  has gained more than 2100 “likes” in just over two months, posts incidents of local crime or suspicious activity in the area.

A spike in activity on the page over the past month has sparked concerns for the crime rate in Gunnedah and lack of police resources, according to the page’s administrator.

The administrator, who did not wish to be named for safety reasons, said the community should know about crimes in the area and urged people to report incidents to police.

“People work hard to get what they have and kids are stealing it,” the administrator said.

“Insurance premiums will go up in town which will effect people as well – something needs to be done before it gets further out of hand.”

The administrator said they believed police “do as much as they can with the resources they have”, however, posts on the page blame the lack of police presence for “spikes” in crime.

“I really feel we need 24-hour policing in Gunnedah,” the administrator said.

“Police do what they can, just for the courts to let them go.

“The crime rate in Gunnedah doesn’t look as bad because half the incidents aren’t reported or recorded.

“I think there are more incidents happening then what is even on our Facebook page.”

Members of the page have tabled a petition requesting 24-hour policing in Gunnedah to be circulated and presented at the Gunnedah Crime Prevention Committee meeting next week.

Gunnedah Shire councillor Rebecca Ryan has been a victim of crime and is an active member of the Facebook page.

“I have commented on the page that it is important for people to report things so we have accurate statistics,” Cr Ryan said.

“The statistics don’t show that crime is on the rise, it’s hard to make a case for a bigger police presence when the statistics don’t show the need.

“People also need to be mindful policing is a state issue and with the upcoming election it is an ideal time as a community to lobby to our local member as a main point of call.

“From my perspective of being broken into, we saw the process play out and at 3am when we realised, police were quite responsive in our instance.

“However the reality is we need to do things that avoid opportunistic crime, you need to lock your homes and cars.”

Cr Ryan encourages residents to look at the crime prevention strategy adopted by council.

“If there are issues people think council need to look at keeping council informed so the strategies stay relevant.

“It’s great when community members are proactive with issues in town, however just posting on Facebook and not necessarily following through isn’t enough.”

Gunnedah’s Crime Prevention Committee chair Colleen Fuller said concerns raised on the page would be brought up at Tuesday’s meeting.

“I’ve invited Kevin Anderson to the meeting to hear the concerns,” Mrs Fuller said.

She said as a resident she was concerned over the lack of incidents reported to police and comments about vigilante groups forming.

“The biggest problem in Gunnedah is the lack of reports, I’m hearing things on the page and I’m sure police haven’t heard about it,” she said.

“There are so many avenues to report crime, ring the police hotline or crime stoppers if you can’t get Gunnedah, ring Tamworth, just report it.

“There is no use people taking matters into their own hands, it’s very unwise.

“If people think they have the right to take the law into their own hands they are very wrong.

“I have raised the issue with Kevin Anderson, I want to see this problem cleaned up  – a full strength 24-hour police station is what we need.”

Gunnedah Police were unable to comment, but a response would be prepared for next week.