Have you ever not reported a crime because you feel like ‘it isn’t worth it’? These concerns have been echoed around the region, resulting in discussion at council.
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During the November Mid-Western Regional Council meeting a discussion was had regarding the lack of police numbers in parts of the region and perceived issues with lack of the reporting of crimes by residents.
The motion was moved by councillor Percy Thompson who said the numbers in the Gulgong area specifically are too low and people don’t bother reporting.
“For a long time we’ve had a problem with police in Gulgong being called into Mudgee because of 24-hour policing here [Mudgee],” he said.
“At the moment we’ve only got one police officer in Gulgong and the other one is off on leave. I spoke to him about a week ago, he told me he continually gets called here [Mudgee] particularly of a night and that’s the problem out there.”
“When I was going to school - which was a long time ago - there were three police in Gulgong with only 1200 people there. It was on the news this morning that the premier is going to employ another 1500 police over the next four years and I think we need to push the issue to get some more police.”
“You only need to talk to the people in the shops there, they’ll let you know. The thing is that a lot of them don’t get reported.”
An announcement was made on November 20 by Member for Dubbo and Police Minister, Troy Grant that 1500 new police will be added to the NSW Police Force over the next four years including a Child Protection Officer and an Elder Abuse Prevention Officer for the Mudgee region.
“The 1500 extra police will benefit every single community across NSW including Dubbo…,” Mr Grant said.
During the same announcement, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the safety and security of NSW communities is the Government’s highest priority.
“NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller has provided the Government with a resourcing blueprint for the NSW Police Force that focuses on proactive and high visibility policing,” said Ms Berejiklian.
NSW Commissioner of Police Mick Fuller said this commitment to the New South Wales Police Force is historic.
“I am very excited at the opportunities we’ll now have to enhance our capability,” Commissioner Fuller said.
Councillor Paul Cavalier spoke in support of councillor Thompson’s motion and of his experience with Fire and Rescue NSW.
“Look this is in no way a criticism of the NSW Police Force or their hard-working staff in the area but certainly I would have to support Cr Thompson when he says that a lot of the the crime that does occur in Gulgong and no doubt in other areas throughout the region simply isn’t reported because people don’t see any use for doing so.” he said.
“I’m aware certainly through my involvement with Fire and Rescue NSW that that is the case and quite often Fire and Rescue NSW also don’t call for the police to attend because it simply takes too long to get a police officer to attend some of the jobs that we go to.”
“So the community must know, that if you’re gonna report it - you may think it doesn’t do anything - but it’s actually a very valuable tool in getting the statistics correct and applying police to the areas that need it.”
“We have re-engineered the organisation to ensure our structure has us well placed to prevent, disrupt and respond to crime throughout the community.”
However, some are wondering if the four-year roll out will happen soon enough to combat the staffing issues residents are experiencing.
Councillor Peter Shelley also spoke of his experience in Kandos.
“There was a spike in vandalism etc down in Kandos [1-2 years ago] and we held a public meeting. We had the Superintendent turn up with the support of the local police and the major thing, as you know there’s no harm in requesting more police presence at all,” he said.
“But the major thing and I’d like the media to take note is that it is definitely the non-reporting of incidents that defines where police go.”
“So if you don’t report it you don’t get police presence.”
“So the community must know, that if you’re gonna report it - you may think it doesn’t do anything - but it’s actually a very valuable tool in getting the statistics correct and applying police to the areas that need it.”
A spokesperson for NSW Police said to the Mudgee Guardian, simply:
“There are two officers attached to the Gulgong sector, however one officer is currently working at another location,” they said.
“A review of statistics for Gulgong over the last three years show that crime incidents have fallen, while police pro-activity has increased.”
“Police encourage members of the public to report all incidents of crime to allow the organisation to gain a complete view of what is occurring in any particular location."
