Community & Business
2 December, 2023
Mayor Batten joins call for crime inquiry
Gilgandra Shire Council mayor Doug Batten has endorsed the growing calls for an inquiry into crime, law, and order in regional and rural NSW.
Mayor Batten has supported the Country Mayor’sAssociation (CMA) of NSW who published a report detailing the significantissues residents of rural and regional areas face with crime rates. That report has also been supported by the Police Association of NSW, the CWA of NSW, and other councils within the central west region.
The call for the inquiry hit a roadblock recently when the police ministerYasmin Catley MP, refused to initiate the inquiry or bring the issue to parliament.
This has not stopped the continuation of community organisations, councils,associations such as the police to advocate for the inquiry.In his mayoral minute at November’s council meeting mayor Batten reiterated the statements by CMA chairman, mayor Jamie Chaffey: “We knew crime was increasing, but we looked to the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) data to clarify the situation. We were shocked to learn that as well as the alarming incident counts in regionalNSW, the rate of incidents per 100,000people was, in some cases horrifying when compared to metropolitan figures.
“Up to 90 per cent of crimes including vehicle theft, breaking and entering,sexual and domestic assaults are happening here, in our regional communities,”said Cr Chaffey.
At the Gilgandra council meeting on November 21, councillors moved to ask all members of the NSW parliament to commit to bipartisan support to establish an inquiry into the rate of crime in all categories reported on “by the Bureau ofCrime Statistical and Research (BOCSAR) in Regional, Rural and RemoteNSW, specifically focusing on the inequity between metro and regional local government areas”.
The council is also putting forward a request that the NSW parliament committo bipartisan support to increase spending on the NSW police force to “increasefront line policing numbers in regional, rural and remote regions most at need”.
The resolution by council will now join in collaboration with other councils, organisations and associations calling upon the NSW government to support an inquiry.
