A good turnout at Tuesday’s local police forum showed the high concern that local residents have in regard to drugs and car hooning issues in Gosnells, Canning Vale, Huntingdale and Southern River.
Minister for Police Michelle Roberts talked about the methamphetamine crisis and said that the Wastewater results showed that the use of meth in the community peaked in 2016 and subsequently declined.
“It is a drug that drives crime more than any other,” she said.
Some of the safety initiatives mentioned at the forum include new technology development for Police and CCTV linked cameras in Sutherlands Park and Gosnells
Town Centre.
Local resident Colin Hills built his house in Matilda road 43 years ago and is highly concerned about reckless driving and the distribution of drugs happening in his local area.
“It’s been happening for years,” he said.
“We have a primary school down the road and we have cars doing 100 kilometres an hour every day.”
Mr Hills also said he is seeing dealers distributing drugs in the area and even drop some of the little plastic bags on his lawn.
Many local residents complained about speeding and car hooning issues in their local areas.
Johan Ossthuizen has lived in Bradley Street for over five years now and said reckless speeding in the area was getting out of control.
Mr Ossthuizen said he was frustrated after contacting the City of Gosnells numerous times and not getting the response he was expecting.
“I called the City of Gosnells and they told me it was a traffic matter and not a police matter,” he said.
“I am paying my taxes and if everyone in the community has a problem, the City of Gosnells should put it on their agenda and write a recommendation to be able to come up with a solution.
“I have children and I don’t want to let them on my front yard because I am afraid something will happen to them.”
Canning Vale Police Senior Sergeant Quentin Flatman emphasised on the importance of reporting these incidents, as it gives Police in Gosnells and Cannington more information to conduct a better analysis of the areas that need reinforcement.
“The more reports we have, the more tactical options we can take,” he said.
“A number of the places people were talking about I’d never heard about before.
“If I am seeing a constant pattern in a particular area, it increases my capability to focus on that area.”
Some of the changes that the police force have implemented over the last two years include the increase of a local police presence at Canning Vale and Gosnells Police stations and extended weekday hours at the Canning Vale police station to 7pm.
City of Gosnells Mayor Glenn Dewhurst said he didn’t think the safety initiatives implemented by the city would solve the issue of crime and anti-social behaviour in the community.
“I have heard the same talk for many years by consecutive governments,” he said.
“Social issues are going to get worse and I quite simply cannot see them getting worse without dramatic change and out of the box thinking.”
“Car hooning is a big issue in our local area so I call on the State Government to give back the power for local councils to have traffic enforcement officers,” he said.
“It was done many years ago and works very well in other countries.
