Escalation of Crime - How we can work together as a community to address this issue with the Police

Most people would be aware of the escalation of crime in the last few years and particularly for our area in Cumbalum in the last 12-18 months. Our community has been experiencing an increasing number of break-ins - wallets and handbags are stolen, and most frequently car keys are stolen to access the car(s) and the cars are then taken for a 'joy-ride' before they are ditched and often torched.

At the March A Ward meeting in 2024, the Ballina Shire Council discussed the increase in crime and some of the key issues presenting around this:

• This being an increase in youth crime - discussions around best ways to address this in terms of involving the whole community and providing purposeful activities for youth in order to help reduce crime. However, past attempts at this have folded and have not been seen to be effective.

• Ballina Shire Council currently does not have many strategies in place to combat this issue and most of the local community agrees that there is a need to develop a strategy to combat the rising crime that is occurring in Ballina.

• Ballina Shire Council has highlighted that there is a website that can be accessed called 'Crime Stoppers' that supports with a quick and easy on-the-spot reporting of any crime: nsw.crimestoppers.com.au OR you can also report via phone: 1800 333 000. This can be done anonymously. Make sure to get an 'event number' once you have reported the crime so that it is an official report (more on this below).

In the last 12-18 months since that particular A ward meeting in March 2024, crime rates have undergone some fluctuations with some peaks and some troughs. Gone are the days when it was safe to leave the front door unlocked, or the windows open if you needed to duck out briefly or wanted to work in the back yard. We might want to reminisce about this, however, the reality is that times have changed. Whilst not much has currently been put in place to help combat this issue and make long term changes, as a community there are things we can all put in place as residents to keep our community as safe as possible.

There are simple common sense approaches that we can all implement - such as closing and locking doors including garage doors and back doors, not leaving the car keys or other important keys in an easy spot for someone else to grab, not leaving hand bags and other valuable items in obvious spots where they can be spotted and taken etc.

For those who are able to source a safe to keep valuables in, a reminder to secure this well (bolted into the concrete floor), and keep it locked and hide the keys to the safe in a secure place. And for those who can get security cameras installed, this is always a deterrent and can act as a support for identifying the person or persons involved in the crime. The cameras are usually battery operated or solar operated and do need to be checked regularly to ensure they are working.

The NSW Police Force has created a series of flyers and handouts to help educate the community around crime prevention. These can be accessed on our CRA Website under NSW Police Force Crime Prevention 'Important Links' Page.

Another link provided in the 'Important Links' Page on the CRA website is also the NSW Police Force Community Portal that allows you to report crimes and access other information in relation to applications. The link to Crime Stoppers is also found on this same page.

So how important is it to report crimes in the area?

Reporting crimes is important. When crimes are not reported, the Police are not alerted of the illegal activities happening in the area and as such they have to assume that everything is going OK. When crimes are reported to the police and registered officially, then this leads to more police action in the area such as an increase in the Police patrols.

So in a nutshell here is what to do and how to go about reaching out to the Police:

• If you are dealing with an emergency or an incident that is happening now, please call 000 and get some immediate help.

• To report less immediate crimes reach out to the Police Assistance Line on 131 444 or submit a report via the Community Portal.

• To report crimes anonymously you can reach out to Crime Stoppers (link to this is also found on the Community Portal.

The bottom line is that by reporting it, through any of the above means, the crime will end up with local police for attention. The Community Portal is a great door opener for reporting crimes and for various other tasks, with a follow up facility.

Let's work together as a community to put in place these common sense approaches and take care of yourself and those around you!