Drug use, fights, vandalism, destruction of property, and violent intimidation of locals sitting in their homes.
Welcome to Friday and Saturday nights in the centre of South Golden Beach (SGB).
Such activities have become a regular occurrence in the once-quiet village, according to a local resident who addressed Byron Shire Council last week.
Backed by a 50-signature petition signed by some of his fellow residents, Trenton Jamieson said there had been a huge increase in youth crime and antisocial behaviour in the town.
He and other residents are calling for increased action from police and the Council to help make SGB safe again, including regular security patrols.
During the same meeting, Council passed a motion to support local police in facilitating a public meeting in the town to discuss the issues, and investigate the cost and merits of installing CCTV and improved lighting at appropriate locations in the town.
‘Every weekend or every other weekend, we have to deal with kids partying, fighting, bottles being smashed, property being destroyed and stolen, the playground being trashed…’ Mr Jamieson told last week’s Council meeting, as more than a dozen of his fellow residents looked on.
‘Every weekend, we’re cleaning up the gardens, cleaning up the hall… we’re finding things like this – this is the kind of flick knife that kids are carrying around with them at the moment…’
Among the more concerning recent incidents described by Mr Jamieson were an alleged rape, a 14-year-old girl overdosing on ketamine, and a group of youths banging on the doors and windows of a home while a single mother sat inside with her kids.
Teens dropped off by parents on weekends
The meeting heard that the violent and antisocial behaviour was not primarily the work of young people from South Golden Beach, but teens from surrounding areas who were being dropped off by their parents.
The area around the town’s skate park had become ‘the place to be’ on Friday and Saturday nights, drawing kids from as far afield as the Gold Coast.
Mr Jamieson said residents were not satisfied with the police response to the issue.
‘They explain that they can’t do anything because of the children’s ages,’ Mr Jamieson told the meeting.
‘They even go as far as saying that maybe we should take matters into our own hands.
‘At times when police attend after being called repeatedly, they don’t even bother to get out of their cars. They simply drive down Redgate Road with their lights on to give the kids ample warning to get out of the way.’
‘It’s not acceptable.’
Residents are asking for increased state government funding for more police in the immediate area rather than relying on an ‘already exhausted Byron Bay police station’.
But Mayor Michael Lyon said a local Chief Inspector had told him that the problem was not funding, but the inability of NSW Police to attract and retain officers.
Lack of police?
‘Having spoken to police last week, it became clear that funding isn’t necessarily the issue,’ Cr Lyon said.
‘They’re having big problems attracting and retaining staff, and a lot of staff are on leave for various reasons.’
Cr Lyon moved the motion that was ultimately passed by all councillors in relation to the issue, saying that South Golden Beach had become a ‘hotspot for antisocial behaviour’.
‘It’s clear to me that as a Council, we have a responsibility to try and address this behaviour and address the concerns of residents in the area,’ Cr Lyon said.
‘I think it’s really important that we put this on the community’s radar, and that we get it out there loud and clear that we are aware of this issue, that it’s unacceptable behaviour, and that it can’t continue.’
Independent councillor, Sama Balson, emphasised that any solution to the issue needed to involve the direct input of local young people involved.
This included discussions about what alternative activities could be provided.
Councillor Mark Swivel, also an independent, said that Ocean Shores and the surrounding suburbs lacked ‘the sort of community infrastructure that you would expect for that concentration of population’.
‘It’s also fair to say that, because of the relatively small population stretched over a relatively large area we have an overstretched police service,’ Cr Swivel said.
He also said that, given this shortage and the nature of the problems at South Golden Beach, the situation was ripe for a ‘community policing response’.
Community policing is about police engagement with the community through restructuring police organisations and altering the daily activities of operational officers.
Community policing
In addition to the public meeting and investigation into CCTV and improved light, councillors also voted to further explore the issue at a councillor workshop.
This discussion would include consideration of ‘appropriate interventions’ which could be supported by Council for youth in the north of Byron Shire.
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