GUNNEDAH mayor Owen Hasler said he is aware and concerned about the recent spate of crime in the area, but says Gunnedah is “still a safe community to live in”.
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“It’s not a new phenomenon for crime rates to rise in Gunnedah and most other communities over the Christmas holiday break,” Cr Hasler said.
“We will have a clearer idea of specific stats after the Crime Prevention Committee meeting on Tuesday, which will give us an indication as to whether there was more criminal activity than previous years.
“Gunnedah is still a safe community to live in and Gunnedah Shire Council looks forward to working with state government, police and the community to make it even safer by helping prevent further criminal activity.”
Member for Tamworth Kevin Anderson said he had spoken to Gunnedah police about the issues Gunnedah was facing.
“I’ve had a long discussion with the boss of Gunnedah Police, Inspector Paul Johnston, about the crime issues, and we are going to the meeting on Tuesday evening, where he will outline his thoughts in terms of what can be done to get on top of it,” Mr Anderson said.
“I’ll do whatever I can to assist in any way shape or form.
“I’ve asked Inspector Johnston to look at the statistics and there is no doubt that we do have people causing mischeif and generally being idiots at the moment, but it does come and go.”
Cr Hasler said the need for extra police presence would also be raised at the committee meeting next week.
“We have been lobbying for extra police presence for quite some time,” Cr Hasler said.
“With the state government elections just around the corner, now is the time for community to band together and lobby for extra police presence.”
Mr Anderson said he has had discussions with the Oxley Local Area Command about police resources in Gunnedah.
“We will be continuing those discussions, but what we don’t want to do is build community expectations on something that may or may not happen,” Mr Anderson said.
“I will continue to talk about the issue as Gunnedah is a growing town and there is no doubt about that and I absolutely believe there will be a time when a 24-hour police station will come to town.”
Both Mr Anderson and Cr Hasler said social media had a role to play, as long as it was used correctly.
“I am in favour of citizens sharing information to deter crime, provided it is based on fact, not made or stemming from personal disputes,” Cr Hasler said.
Mr Anderson described the use of social media as a “double-edged sword”.
“I’ve been monitoring the page and social media certainly has a role to play in our community, but it can also do a lot of harm,” Mr Anderson said.
“These people committing crimes around town want the publicity, it’s a double-edged sword, they see their activities on Facebook and it gives them momentum to do it again.”
Mr Anderson suggested the page should be used in a positive way to alert people to secure their homes better and to report suspicious behaviour to police, “no matter how trivial”.