Youth crime rates have fallen in the rural NSW town of Moree but tensions within the community remain high after a string of violent incidents.
Crime rates are down in Moree, but police admit they cannot 'arrest their way out' of youth crime problemCrime rates are down in Moree, but police admit they cannot 'arrest their way out' of youth crime problemYouth crime rates have fallen in the rural NSW town of Moree but tensions within the community remain high after a string of violent incidents.
Late last week NSW Police flooded the streets of Moree in another show of force, which resulted in 10 people being arrested and charged with a combined 20 offences. Most of those arrested from Thursday to Saturday were adults but recent incidents, including the stabbing of a motel owner allegedly at the hands of a 13-year-old boy, has meant youth crime remains front of mind for many residents. That is certainly the case for locals, Bianca Melinda and Thomas Chatfield, who say their sense of safety has been shattered since their 22-year-old son was ambushed in May this year.CCTV footage obtained by the ABC shows their son being assaulted and threatened with a knife by two young males in an apparent attempt to steal his motorbike after his shift at the pub. "He ended up on the ground and he was just fighting back for dear life, he was just swinging left, right and centre," Ms Melinda said. " scared, angry ... and even to find out there was a knife ... you come to realise it could have been a lot worse,"The 22-year-old's new motorbike was written off and he could not return to his job due to ongoing PTSD-like symptoms. His mother said the thing that "rattled" her son the most was when the only the person who has been arrested over the attack, a 16-year-old boy, was then granted bail by a magistrate. Youth crime is a particularly complex and sensitive issue in Moree where around 22 per cent of the 9,000 residents are Indigenous. As a local Gomeroi man with four boys, Mr Chatfield said he is deeply worried about the "tension" in the community caused by a small cohort of young offenders.The New England North West Region, which takes in Moree, has some of the highest rates of youth crime in NSW, according to the state's Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research . But over the past two years, BOCSAR data shows youth crime rates in the region has actually dropped by around 24 per cent. Speaking ahead of the second night of the police surge, Detective Inspector Steven Benson told the ABC he believed their tactics were working."What that does indicate is that what we are doing and what we've put in place is working."During a random vehicle stop, a group of kids could be heard in the distance shouting at the officers.Earlier that same day, at the police-run indoor sports centre, local officers conduct what they describe as the second pillar of this operation, "youth engagement". More than a dozen children run around with their friends and some local officers playing soccer and basketball before they gather to eat dinner. Police Citizen's Youth Club volunteer and Indigenous woman Gabrielle Raveneau said the program has made a big difference to many of the kid's lives, with the program open to all local children. "It keeps the kids all together, keeps them off the streets and gives them something to do in the evening," Ms Raveneau said.Gomeroi man Ian Brown is a data manager with Indigenous community advocacy group, Just Reinvest. Mr Brown said more arrests and raids would not address the social factors that drive anti-social behaviour amongst young people. "Yes, we're addressing it now but it's actually not addressing the underlying causes or drivers for those engaging in these behaviours and it actually makes it more of an issue for the community down the road,""The cost-of-living crisis, the broader gaps in services in terms of rural communities, these are issues that are long standing so we need to really have an understanding of the broader community context in order to understand whether we're making a true difference." Last year the state government initiated a trial of new bail laws targeting those charged over break and enters, and motor vehicle thefts.The changes were designed to make it easier for magistrates to keep repeat offenders aged between 14 and 18 in custody. Deputy Commissioner for regional New South Wales field operations Paul Pisanos said police know they cannot "arrest their way out of these very complicated problems". "The real work to be done is the underlying causes of what actually drives this violence and why those do keep offending and that's the challenge for all of us," Deputy Commissioner Pisanos said."In all of the cases we look at generally that underlying theme is that there is prevalence of domestic family violence in the case history of these young offenders." Last week the state government signed a lease for a new bail accommodation in the area, which aims to house at-risk offenders from being released into an unstable home.Analysis by Laura Tingle
Nsw Police Regional Youth Crime Operation Soteria Crime In Regional Nsw New England North West Region Bureau Of Crime Statistics And Research Detective Inspector Steven Benson Police Citizen's Youth Club
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