Narrabri Shire’s community crime prevention plan is in the final stages of preparation for presentation to Narrabri Shire Council.
The plan is being drafted by a committee of council, police and community members plus health and welfare agencies.
There are several tiers to the plan including one targeting drug issues. The committee preparing the plan will meet on Monday next week.
Ultimately, the plan will be adopted after consideration by the shire council and public comment is received.
The Crime Prevention committee has been meeting for some time to draw up the new four year crime prevention plan.
The council needs to have a crime prevention plan in place to enable funding for its implementation, largely centered on community education.
“It is very close to being ready to go to council and then be put out to the general community for people to comment” said council representative on the group, Cr Robyn Faber, a delegate with the mayor Cr Conrad Bolton.
“There are basically four projects in the plan covering the main crime issues.
“Narrabri has come off a very low crime base, but we have spikes.
“A main area of concern is people leaving cars and houses unlocked open for opportunistic crime, and stealing” said Cr Faber.
“The closed circuit television (CCTV) project is another tier, to get it up and going in the three Shire centres so we can deter crime and identify offenders.
“The third was to develop the shire youth strategy, because youth crime is a major component.”
Much of the shire crime is opportunistic, because young people are bored, with nothing to do.
“And the committee is focussing on a fourth tier, to address the growing issue of drug use,” said Cr Faber.
“The problem affects young people and adults as well. This is a work in progress which we are working on now.”
At the last Crime Prevention committee meeting, attended by Barwon Local Area Command Superintendent Jelena Talbot, the point was made that the drug ‘ice’ has been in the community ‘for many years.’
“But now momentum is growing to meet the problem,” said Cr Faber.
“It is a community crime prevention plan and community input will be important.”
The next meeting will be held Monday, October 27.
Crystal methamphetamine (ice) is an emerging issue.
“The users forget about everything else,” a health spokesperson commented.
“Users get to the point where they have to have it to make themselves feel better.
“They don’t want to do anything else.
“A case was quoted in the metropolitan media on the weekend of a user of five years who didn’t know he was hooked and had to take ‘ice’ every morning to get to work - and he was a super worker while he was on his high, but his life was a misery.”