Monday night will see a range of Lennox Head, Ballina, and Northern Rivers leaders coming together to discuss the increase in crime in Lennox Head and across the Northern Rivers meeting at the CWA Hall at the Lennox Head Cultural Centre on December 9 at 7pm.
The meeting will hear from Ballina Police Commander Inspector Nigel Howard, Ballina Mayor, Sharon Cadwallader, Lennox Head local and councillor Kiri Dicker, Deputy Mayor of Ballina Damian Loone, and Justine Elliott, the federal member for Richmond.
‘Local residents are on edge because crime is affecting so many families and businesses across the region,’ said one of the organisers, Alison Vickery said.
‘We have to find ways to get on top of the problem and make Northern Rivers a safer place for everyone. Reports suggest recent Lennox Head robberies are part of a larger crime wave affecting the entire north coast region. In late November, police at the Tweed/Byron PD responded to a string of break-ins across Byron Bay and Brunswick Heads which resulted in a high speed car chase,’ she said.
‘There is hope for a turnaround. The meeting will feature a presentation on a neighbourhood watch initiative in Lismore, which has reportedly reduced crime by 50 per cent.’
CCTV
Cr Loone, will present information on the use of CCTV in the central business district (CBD) and pointed out that ‘CCTV provides a sense of safety to the community and a deterrent to those who wish to offend, plus securing critical evidence to prosecute.’
However, local resident Cr Dicker, who grew up in Lennox Head, said that while CCTV has its place most of the crime is not taking place in the CBD but in people’s homes.
Youth engagement
‘When I was growing up here you never had to lock your door or car but things are changing,’ said Cr Dicker.
‘It is always good for communities to come together to talk about crime. Some of the crime is local kids, some is poverty related crime, and many of the house break-ins are not local,’ she explained.
‘There is an increased population, but people aren’t getting involved in the community and community groups the same way that they used to. Lennox Head is an increasingly wealthy community and is being targeted for crime. The more police and cameras we have, in my opinion, is a red herring – what we need to do is bring people together and build trust, work with young people.
‘Early intervention and youth engagement is essential to ensuring lowering youth crime. This is vital if we do not want to see young people heading down the path into the criminal justice system which is so hard to climb out of.’
Come along and find out more
Ms Vickery is inviting everyone to come and join the meeting and discuss future initiatives for Lennox Head and the broader Northern Rivers region including current crime trends and community safety initiatives.
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