It's been a long time since my last post but we are back showing some idiot drivers in and around Cairns.

 Yorkeys Road March 4, 2022 This a 80km limit.

 

Crime in Cairns & Townsville hasn't changed.

 When reading this article please remember that it was written in 2008.

Back in 2007 I founded Residents Against Crimes in Cairns and during the next 6 years I arranged a number of community meetings which was always well attended. Government Ministers of both parties, Police Commissioner, Attorney and on the footpath.

Learning a lesson from that 3 other meetings were held at De Jalais Hall at the showgrgeneral and Ian Leavers from the Police Union. The reason for calling the original meeting was due to the crime being committed in and around Cairns, the first meeting was held at the Red Cross Centre and the overwhelming response (which I didn't visilise) created a situation where people were standing outside the buildingound and and at the Cairns High School hall and meeting attendance was always in excess of 300 people. 

Following the meetings we did gain an increase in Police numbers including pushbikes and cross country patrol bikes. 

With the increase in Police numbers which sounded really good however what people didn't realise was that the increase wasn't always a benefit to the Police as the extra filled the vacancies due to Annual Leave, Sick Leave, Relieving in higher positions and being allocated to various areas around the Cairns region. 

Unfortuanately over the time crime has increased to an alarming level which has understandably creating concerns for the locals. Back in 2008 I drafted suggestions to present to a meeting that I was invited to attend with the then Police Minister Judy Spence, and a number of other personel including the now Assistant Commissioner in Brisbane.

The meeting lasted just over 2 hours the draft suggestion was handed to all in attendance. 

 My point now is that what the Premier released on the 8th February 2021 regarding the crime which includes: Bail, Parental Responsibilty, Training for offenders including schooling NONE of these suggestions were not acted upon earlier....WHY. 

I have included for your perusal the draft that I presented at the meeting. Your comments are welcome but please NO LITIGATION COMMENTS as they will be deleted. 

Barry Neall Founder.  

Website:www.residentsagainstcrime.blogspot.com 

Email: rac@bigpond.com 

Contact:0438111722 

The Minister of Police. 

Hon. Judy Spence. 

Queensland Parliament. Brisbane. 

This folder contains information in relation to the crime in and around Cairns, Far North Queensland.

The residents are concerned for their safety and the safety of their families  and  rightly   so  as  you  will  see  as  you  peruse  the information contained in this folder.

As the founder of Residents Against Crime I would ask that you seriously consider some of the suggestions in this package.

 

I hope that by sitting down and discussing the problems with you that some sort of resolution can be agreed upon.

 

It is hoped that I may be able to take back to the community following this meeting some assurance/s of the government of the day. 

Barry Neall

Residents Against Crime.

Introduction.

 Over the past 12 months Cairns has seen an increase of crime which range from:

 

 Bashings

Assaults Sexual Assaults Robberies

Robbery while armed with a dangerous weapon

 In some cases the culprits have been apprehended and charged but others who are too young to be charged and receive a so called talking to and then walk free only to go out and maybe do the same thing again.

This type of punishment serves no purpose and doesn’t resolve the real problems and should be dealt with in another direction.

As we peruse the information contained in this folder it will become  evident  that   “there  is  a problem     in  Cairns” irrespective  of  what   has   been   said  by   some   local politicians.

Also please keep in mind that we are talking about a city of 130,000 people not a city of half a million plus. 

I have put all relevant information in section form which I hope will make it easier for each matter to be discussed on its merits.

 

Contents:

 Section 1:                Outline of what is happening and suggestions to overcome the problem/s.

Section 2:                Parental Care Section 3:       News Reports Section 4:               Negative Comments

Section 5:                Professional Comments and statistics and Community Comments

  Section 6:               Suggestions to involve the community and assist police such as               COPS:Citizens On Patrol

 

Section: 7:               Conclusion

 

Section 1:

 What kind of issues are we concerned with?

 Residents in many neighbourhoods share some of the same concerns and fears.

 These may include issues of:

 Safety such as: drug dealing and drug use, personal assaults, vandalism, such as: cars, houses, amenities, building sites

Throwing stones/rocks at vehicles

Robberies, such as: armed robbery and home invasion

       Violent crime such as: stabbings, rape  or sexual attack etc.

       Assaults and children’s safety.

 

The Residents Want A Safer Cairns?

 This is what we need:

 – More law enforcement on the streets & patrols..

We all know that the police force is understaffed and I hope with this meeting today we will be able to come to some compromise to increase the Police numbers so that we can feel safe within our city.

       We need extra police patrols both day and night.

 

      The Police undoubtedly are doing the best they can under the present cumstances 

       but more officers are required.

One way of alleviating the problem is to place non uniformed personnel on front counters and have one senior officer as a supervisor.

I did discuss this with the Premier when she was last in Cairns on Radio and said that she would look at the suggestion that I put to her.

Not long after her return to Brisbane I received a phone  call  from  her  office  advising  me  that  the suggestion that I put forward was going to be put in place ASAP.

       This would allow the extra police officers to carry out road patrols.

This area creates a lot of discussion no matter where you go with the same question being asked:

Should offenders names be made  public in all cases or should there be exemption where children   are under the age of 12 years.

A lot of offenders these days are between 10 and 16years, but   we   know   through  recent  cases  some children are even younger.

Everyone should be given one chance but should you re-offend you then raise the chance of being publicly identified.

I also ask “have the social workers spoken to these young children to find out where the problem lies in regards to their crime spree“.

       If they have what action have they taken to overcome this problem.

The governments, both Federal and State should re- think the issue of handing back parental powers so that some control can be retained in reference to discipline.

On the other hand have we allowed this to go too far down the track and maybe that trying to get family discipline back into the home will be a bigger issue than what it is worth.

This is a problem area in virtually every state but the government really needs to look seriously at ways of expediting cases through the court system so that the victim/s do not have to be dragged through that long period and then having to re-live the night of terror.

Also the sentencing laws must be seriously looked at and both the government and the judiciary must take a closer look at the sentences handed down.

       If you do the crime you do the time.

 

– Fewer plea bargains

To many plea bargains are made between solicitors and prosecutors thus lowering the charge that the offender/s were originally charge with.

This I believe does not give the victim/s peace of mind and allows the offenders to serve less than they would have originally been given.

Offenders aged between 10 and 16 years should be given one chance and should they re-offend they should be charged with the serious offences that they have committed such as:

Assaults on any person/s

       Home invasions including any sexual attack.

These young offenders really need assistance and my suggestion is that they need to be placed in an environment where they can be schooled and trained in various available employment availabilities such as:

 Motor mechanic

Carpentry

Electrical Technician

My   proposal   is   that   the   government  consider purchasing  land  at     Lakeland  Downs   and   build dormitories (not a lock up situation) and workshop.

The reason I suggest Lakeland Downs is that it is away from the lime light and also away from their mates some of whom  are a bad influence on these kids.

This could run along the line of what Geoff Guest set up sometime ago.

Another consideration we could look at is that a panel of legal professionals or jury make a decision or recommendation as to the sentence that should be applied.

 -- Better bond setting

This again seems to be the simple way out rather than give the appropriate sentence and how many times   have   we  seen offenders  back  in  the  court system charged with another offence and usually given another bond.

There should be a limit to the number of times an offender can be given a bond instead of a custodian sentence.

Repeat   offenders   should   not   be   afforded   the opportunity to receive bond after bond.

 – A safer environment for Cairns

The citizens of this city or any other city  for that matter are entitled to live in peace and know that their families are safe.

 What Can Citizens Do?

 •  Act Now!

•   It is time for the “silent majority to be heard”

  •  This is our City and we want it to be safe for all citizens 

 •   Get to know your neighbours.

RAC works better when neighbourhoods are united. One way to start is to knock on neighbours’ doors and  introduce   yourself.

Talk to your community police officer. Report any suspicious activities. 

Pass along any information that could help the police prevent or solve a crime.

  Talk about your concerns, but don’t forget to show your support.

Don’t wait for someone else to take the lead. Everyone in the community shares the responsibility for keeping our neighbourhoods safe.

Citizens to be the second eyes for police.

 

A successful Community initiative requires that a clear vision be created and communicated widely.

Committed and broad-based community leaders must lead the efforts.

Community-based initiatives should do more than yield short term results.

They should also provide a focus for future policies and actions, to create an expanded civic capacity as citizens learn how to deal with change more effectively.

Local resources can be co-ordinated, leveraged   by external   resources   and   maximized  to  achieve  Cairns desired future.

 Please remember:

 

 TO BE A GREAT CITY YOU

 FIRST MUST BE A SAFE CITY.

 

Section 2:

 Parental Care

 

Parental care seems to be a word from long ago however parents are still responsible for their children until they reach a certain age and much confusion exists on that.

Parents   are   confused   on   the   disciplining   of   their child/children.

(1).  What constitutes discipline?

(2).  What amount of discipline is allowable under the law?.

(3).  Can parents use reasonable force such as smacking the child’s bottom when the situation arises.

The answer to that should be yes, it didn’t affect us when we were kids and good smack on the bottom did work wonders.

The need to look at parental care and determining the appropriate   punishment  should  be  left  to  the  parents discretion without the fear of reprisal from the law.

 Also parents    who leave       young      or    underage children without supervision should be held accountable.

 

Section 4:    

Negative Comments.

The following two items were from an email to a resident who lives in Atherton but also has family living in Cairns which the writer visits regularly.

  The emails have been included with her permission.

May I say at this time that negative attitudes of this kind do not do any justice to the present government.

These   politicians   were   elected   by   the   residents   to represent them and the residents feel that this is not being done.

The residents would hope that the Premier would speak to these politicians and make them realise that they have an obligation to their constituents.

I would go as far to say that the two concerned politicians should apologise to the residents of this great city by saying that they did make a mistake on making the denial statements and show the residents that they are genuine in the position that they hold.

NB. These two members below are no longer in Parliament at this time but were the local members when this crime spree was in progress.

(1).

 From: Cairns Electorate Office

To: Bev Prescott

Sent: Friday, April 04, 2008 10:01 AM Subject: RE: CRIME IN CAIRNS and district Dear Bev

Thank you for your email. Through the Police Minister I will get you some figures on assaults and street crime.

I note that you live in Atherton. From what I heard of the Mackenzie show, it is no wonder you got the impression that the streets of Cairns are not safe and that crime is rampant. This is in fact not so.

Yes there are offences and yes the police need to respond hard and fast. But media have a responsibility too not to get people disproportionately and unduly alarmed.

I'll send the info through when I get

 Regards,

Desley

Desley Boyle MP Member for Cairns

Ph 4051-2868 / Fax 4051-6760 (2).

From: Mulgrave Electorate Office

To: bevpre@gmail.com

Sent: Friday, April 04, 2008 11:32 AM Subject: CRIME IN CAIRNS and district it.

Dear Bev

I understand my colleague, the Honourable Desley Boyle has responded to your email and I fully endorse her actions.

Thank you for putting your concerns in writing to me. Yours faithfully

Warren Pitt MP Member for Mulgrave

Ph: 4056 3175 Fax: 4056 3340

Section 3:   News Reports.

This section is no longer applicable.

 Reports no longer available.

 

Section 5:       Professional Comments and Statistics and Community Comments

This section is no longer applicable.

Reports no longer available. 

 

Section 6:       Suggestions to involve the community and 

              assist police such as COPS: Citizen Observer Patrol.

 Cops  is  an  American  innovation   which  involves  the residents working with police.

COPS stands for Citizens Observer Patrol in which a group of selected residents such as retired police officers, legal or business persons or selected local residents from Cairns.

These people who volunteer are scrutinised by police checks and   only  people  with  a  clean  slate  can  be accepted to be Citizens Observer Patrol.

The  selected  persons  work  a  shift  between  0700  to

2130hrs and patrol around the suburbs in an unmarked vehicle…Walking the streets is not recommended.

On coming across an incident they would immediately call police by radio to a monitored base who will notify the Police and then back away from the incident and observe till police arrive.

The Citizens Observer Patrol DO NOT intervene in any incidents what so ever as their whole aim is to be the eyes for police only.

This would relieve the strain  on  local  police  and  allow them to carry out other important duties until called.

This scheme has been a success in the US, New Zealand (as shown on TV) and I believe it was going to be  or is being tried  in Darwin N.T.

I realise that litigation maybe a problem but surely the government can overcome that problem.

So that you can peruse the information on the website re

COPS I have listed the website as:

http://www.pac2durham.com/ or

www.nacop.org.

 

CITIZEN OBSERVER PATROL

A COMMUNITY POLICING PROGRAM

SPONSORED BY THE DURHAM POLICE DEPARTMENT WHAT IS Citizen Observer Patrol? (C.O.P.)

Administered by the Durham Police Department, the Citizens Observer Patrol is a

new crime-reduction program begun in the Fall of 2003. It is part of a citywide effort to get Durham residents more involved in the neighbourhood watch and crime prevention programs.

Citizen Patrol volunteers conduct regularly scheduled patrols within their communities to watch out for suspicious activities and crimes in progress, aid stranded motorists and generally provide an increased level of comfort for those who see the extra patrol on the streets.

 

Section 7:

 Conclusion.

 Cairns is a very vibrant city and more importantly a tourist destination which delivers a large number of tourist and money and employs many residents in Cairns.

Should the government continue to allow the crime to prevail and NOT place any priority on law and order then Cairns along with other Queensland destinations could suffer the consequences of lost tourism and finance.

Tourist do surf the internet and checkout destinations like Cairns and in doing so read the local paper which is freely available for all to peruse.

The government can do some positive things such as: (1).  Making law and order a priority in Queensland.

(2).     Draft legislation upgrading the sentences that are more  appropriate  and  in  line     with   the   crime committed.

(3). Consider a trial period of curfews across the state or why   no   make   Cairns   the   “trial   centre”   and   if successful then place a blanket curfew across the state.

(4).    Consider the rule of 2 strikes and your  out system.

Should an offender receive a bond for an offence and then re-commits again they (he/she) should receive some detention time.

Detention  time  means  exactly  that - NO TV, NO COMPUTERS  and  should  perform  some  type  of work while in detention.

As I stated earlier I don’t believe jail is the answer as these kids will probably come out better criminals than what they were prior to the jailing however if they want to continue their criminal career then there are consequences.

There was a scheme if I remember correctly where young offenders were placed in a facility and were lectured by hardened criminals who gave the young offenders a real outlook of what they could expect in jails if they continued with re-offending.

The Government and the Public of Queensland need to work hand in hand to overcome this problem but the initial stage needs to be commenced by the Government.

We must not   allow the so called “do gooders” run the system as we now see, it just doesn’t work with the young ones knowing that they can get away with most things.

The Government needs to be strong, the law needs to be tough and the offenders must realise that this state will not tolerate any further unnecessary crime.

Lets be tough but lets be fair.

Finally, I would like to thank you for allowing me this time to discuss this very important issue because if we don’t act now crime could reach an irreversible point.

Should you wish to contact me please feel free to do so on: 0740558321 or 0438111722.

 

Thanking you. 

Barry Neall