Thugs in charge

By Tania Martin
AN EMERALD woman fears going out on Friday nights because she says gangs of youths are holding the town hostage.
The woman, who didn’t want to be named, said the problem was getting worse.
Over the past four months the Gazette has reported a number of incidents involving break-ins and vandalism in the town’s centre.
Residents and traders have been calling for a bigger police presence and more security cameras.
They say the gangs are terrorising the town when they know the police will not be there.
Last week the Gazette reported in its story, Crime Cameras Costly, that local businesses would have to meet the cost of installing Closed Circuit Television cameras.
The woman said it was ridiculous that she couldn’t even go into town on a Friday night to get cash out of the bank.
“It’s appalling. I attempted to go to the Commonwealth Bank (on 19 March) but I was too scared to get out of my car,” she said.
“There was a gang of idiots, all drunk and shouting, and I was too afraid to do anything.”
The woman said more than 30 youths were brazenly flouting the law with the police station just metres away.
She has questioned why there isn’t a bigger police presence in the town on Friday and Saturday nights.
“It’s just not safe in Emerald after dark,” she said.
The woman has also questioned why police can’t arrest the youths for under-age drinking.
“I won’t allow my kids to go into town at night or to the video shop … it’s affecting all the businesses in town and everyone has the same concerns.”
One resident, former business owner Koos Groeneveld, said youth related crime had always been an issue in the town.
And it was continuing to escalate.
Mr Groeneveld said local traders should not have to foot bill to install CCTV cameras.
“Why do we have to pay taxes for police when they are never there when we need them,” he said.
Mr Groeneveld said he understood that the kids’ behaviour was linked to boredom but something needed to be done to change the under-age drinking and vandalism culture.
“We need some real solutions to the problem instead of shoving the responsibility on to the traders,” he said.
Dandenong’s Senior Constable Eddy McDonald met with Emerald’s Sergeant Fiona Tolmie and Cardinia Shire representatives yesterday (30 March).
Sgt Tolmie said extra officers had been allocated overnight to combat the youth issues.
“We are also utilising new powers to move people on and issuing a few fines,” she said. “It seems to be working.”