THE rising instances of vandalism, petty crime and break and enters in and around Wauchope needs to be urgently addressed, according to local businessman Terry Burn.
The operator of the IGA King Creek store was last week the target of a break-in that will cost around $50,000.
But Mr Burn wants to take his case – and that of other victims of this level of crime – a step further.
He has grave fears for the future of Wauchope and says the decision-makers need to act. And act quickly.
In an open letter to Gazette readers, Mr Burn drew parallels between Wauchope and his home town of Penrith.
“I arrived from Penrith in 1991 and can now see there are many similarities between what is happening there now and what could happen here in the future,” Mr Burn said.
“As Penrith grew so did the level of crime; once upon a time you could leave your house or car unlocked, leave your push bikes outside, go for a walk at night up the main street and be confident of not being robbed or assaulted.
“History quite often will repeat itself and I see a similar future for Wauchope as the once quiet country town of Penrith.
“In Wauchope there seems to be a spate of crime whether it be vandalism or theft.
There have been letters to the editor concerned about our town’s youth, but, as parents, what are we doing about it?
“Those parents that let their 10-16 year olds run around town in the middle of the night need to be flogged. This is where our trouble begins.
Breaking into cars/schools damaging letter boxes/peoples gardens, setting alight real estate signs.
“As parents the buck stops with us.
“Whilst I am sure that parents would be upset if their child did not return home after a night roaming around town the reality is that if I were to catch one of them in my shop in the midnight hours they won’t return home in the morning.”
Mr Burn urged local residents to be proactive in their stand against hoodlums.
He says the 2446 postcode area now boasts a population of around 13,000. And this figure alone should dictate Wauchope is served by a 24 hour police station with police on patrol each night.
“Wauchope is a soft target for out-of-town thieves who know that it’s a free for all after Wauchope police knocks off at night,” Mr Burn said.
“This may not have helped in my recent case but I’m sure if police had been patrolling in Wauchope there may have been a good chance that these thieves may have been pulled over going to or coming from the crime scene.
“We do not need to share our police with Laurieton, we pay an enormous amount of tax between 13,000 residents, and we want something in return.
“We have two local members that cover our district - Rob Oakeshott and Andrew Stoner.
“As residents we should bombard their email addresses to inform them of your dissatisfaction with the lack of pro-activeness of the government on this issue. You should also email Port Macquarie Hastings Council to build further pressure for a 24 hour police station. (The email addresses are listed below).
Mr Burn said if no action is taken Wauchope risked an escalation in crime and the potential for vigilante groups to start dealing with the problem.
“Or we can simply put bars on our windows and doors and lock down anything that moves,” he said.
“The local area police service is under-manned and over-worked but it is the justice system that has a lot to answer for and should shoulder the blame for the current situation.
“The penalties for major crime in Australia are far from adequate. When police do manage to arrest criminals they are often frustrated by the amount of paper work involved just to see the criminal get off with a slap on the wrist or suspended sentence.
“Judges and magistrates should make criminals think twice before re-offending.
“The punishment must fit the crime I believe.”
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