A COMMUNITY sentiment survey has shown the top three concerns for the Swan Hill police service area were drugs and alcohol, safety of property and possessions and road safety.
The survey results were revealed on Thursday at the second annual Neighbourhood Policing Forum at Stradbroke Hall, attended by a small but passionate group of stakeholders.
The forum was led by Western Region Division 6 Acting Superintendent Tom Nairn, Western Region Acting Commissioner Peter Ward and Swan Hill Acting Inspector Brian Hansen.
They were joined by police from divisions including investigation, the highway patrol and proactive policing.
Supt Nairn said it was always important for police to hear from local people about what was happening locally.
“This is really our opportunity to hear from the community about what we are doing well and other areas where we might still have some work to do,” he said.
“It’s all about working with our community to make sure that we are doing what we need to do to ensure they feel safe, and that they are safe.
“Today was terrific. We had a small group, but everyone was really engaged.”
Representatives from schools, services and local government raised concerns including youth vaping, drug use and dangerous driving.
One expressed frustration with “reactive” policing.
Police emphasised their efforts to focus on the driving factors of crime and their commitment to early intervention to divert the region’s young people from crime as early as possible.
The forum heard statistics from the Crime Statistics Agency showed the total of offences had grown 1.9 per cent since last year, up to 3465 from 3402.
Supt Nairn said the discussion had been fruitful and some concerns raised could be worked on.
“We’ve come away today with a number of action items, not just for this area,” he said.
“We are going to be taking them back to other parts of the Mallee, but my senior colleague will also be taking these back to other parts of Victoria.
“There were some ideas that have come out of the discussion today that will be spread much more broadly.”
Police spoke about the importance of sharing information and recommended Crime Stoppers as the best way to pass on tips to police.
Supt Nairn said the strong discussion would help local police understand the work they needed to prioritise to keep the community feeling safe.
“The feedback that we get back from the community regarding those five key themes will help us see what we should be prioritising,” he said.
“We have a strong focus on supporting our youth and diverting them away from the criminal justice system, which is what we want.
“We don’t want our young people involved in that; we want to see them elsewhere.
“Certainly, things like road policing and general crime enforcement and prevention will continue to keep our focus.”
