Following the release of Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research data from 2023 which revealed "growing discrepancies" between crime rates in regional NSW and those in Sydney, there will be an inquiry into community safety in regional and rural communities.
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The NSW Legislative Assembly's Committee on Law on Safety announced it would investigate the drivers of youth crime in the regions and actions the NSW government can take to improve community safety.
State MP, and Member for Orange Phil Donato will serve on this inquiry, which will look into and report on:
- the drivers of youth crime across regional and rural NSW, particularly since the COVID pandemic;
- how a whole of government approach can reduce the drivers and root causes of youth crime in regional and rural NSW;
- the wraparound and diversionary services available for youth and families in the regions and rural areas and how they can be better matched to individuals, measured, improved and integrated into a coordinated approach to divert youth from crime, having regard to the NSW Government's commitment to working in partnership with Aboriginal people;
- staffing levels and workforce issues, including police staffing, in regional and rural areas and how services can be improved to reduce youth crime in these areas;
- recidivism rates in regional and rural areas, and related impacts on the community, services and law enforcement;
- the range of functions being performed by NSW police officers, including mental health assistance and youth welfare, on behalf of other agencies in regional and rural areas, and the supports required to assist police; and
- any other related matter.
The inquiry will report back in February 2025..
"If you look at the BOCSAR statistics over the last four or five years, the crime categories across regional NSW have increased dramatically - exponentially disproportionate to what has occurred in metropolitan Sydney," Mr Donato said in NSW Parliament on Wednesday.
"So there is clearly been a disconnect of policing resources in NSW, not just for 12 months for many years," he said.
Calling on State Parliament to pass the Bail and Crimes Amendment Bill 2024 last week member for Orange Phil Donato said there comes a point where you have to put the community first.
Parliament passed the Bill late last week after making a number of amendments.
"If you're going to commit these types of offences whilst on bail for the same type of offences, there comes a point where you have to put the community first and the protection of the community first and ultimately bail refuse these young people," Mr Donato told State Parliament.
As a former police prosecutor Mr Donato has a unique perspective and considerable experience regarding what is at the heart of the Bill.
"Whilst I support diversionary programs for wayward youth in our community (and the Orange electorate is fortunate to have several), we also need to up the ante with tougher bail laws to tackle repeat offenders who commit serious crimes," he said.
"Our country communities have had a gutful of being victims to juvenile offenders who run amok.
"I support the government in this endeavour, and this bill," Mr Donato said.
This piece of legislation is quite specific it is in relation to serious break and enter and motor vehicle offences, which if you look at the BOSCAR reports, clearly in regional NSW they were two of the most prevalent offences.
"We're talking about those between 14 and 18.
"There seems to be no consequences," he said.
The first line of the BOSCAR summary, Mr Donato said, says "rates of property crime are considerably higher than in Sydney".
The categories in the report, he said, showed a "clear and precise matrix that offences in the regions are by far higher and in some cases have spiked," Mr Donato said.
"I am in support of programs that can deter young people, get them involved, get them out of the criminal justice system or just engaged and going to school.
"But there comes a point in time where those programs, when they're committing serious offences, and we're talking about serious break and enter offence or a motor vehicle theft offence, if they're on bail for that offence and they commit a further offence of that nature than the court should be seriously considering refusing bail for the protection of the community," Mr Donato said.
"It might be a reality of this Bill that more young people become incarcerated but the reality is we also need to protect the community and victims in our community - those who are too scared to go out and night, those who have flashbacks of waking up and finding someone in there house.
"These are things that are happening in my community," Mr Donato said.
"There are those who have a gutful of being victims of crime, who have had a gutful of working hard to buy a car, to buy a nice house, having it destroyed, having it stolen, having it broken in to.
"They've had a gutful and they turn to there local members and raise these concerns and we are obliged as local members and as a government to do something about it.
"People need to be protected quickly and this legislation does that," he said.
Mr Donato also smoke on the regional crime crisis in parliament last week.
Speaking during a public interest debate on the crisis Mr Donato said "there has clearly been a disconnect of police resources in regional NSW".
"What we're seeing is police in areas called away to major towns to cover shortages in those locations," Mr Donato said.
To read the inquiry's terms of reference, and to make a submission, please visit the Committee's webpage
