Over 70 people gathered at the Narromine USMC on Wednesday evening to discuss crime concerns, correct ways to report crime, and potential methods to inform community members of incidents. 

Community member Kat Barnes proposed residents “come together, communicate and do something to prevent crime” through the establishment of a Neighbourhood Watch program, keeping locals updated through the app WhatsApp. 

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Recent figures from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) suggest in the 12 months until March 2018 incidents of reported crime in the Narromine Local Government Area have decreased in comparison to the previous year.

In the 12 months to March 2018, there were 17 reports of motor vehicle theft, a significant decrease from the 37 reported in the same time period last year. 

There were 113 incidents of break and enters to either dwellings or non-dwellings this year, compared to 147. 

Domestic and non-domestic related violence remained stable across the state and in the Narromine shire. There were 101 incidents reported to police.

Ms Barnes said she was “mortified” to see the statistics, asking the crowd if they think they paint an accurate picture. 

“It is appalling to see that 58 break-ins were recorded in 2017. Do you think that’s correct?”

“I was going through these stats and I was mortified … we would have had 58 break-ins in a couple of months, not in a whole year,” she said. 

In the wake of a series of events a majority of concerned community members are calling for a stronger police presence and a 24-hour police station in Narromine.

“How can we push that when (Orana Mid-Western Police District Inspector) Dan Skelly is right, he’s the one saying what the stats are, and he’s right,” Ms Barnes said. 

“We need to be reporting crime, it’s the only way to get it recorded. We need the stats to show the real crime and what’s actually happening.”

Ms Barnes informed residents the number to call to ensure non-serious incidents of crime are reported is 131 444. 

“If you do call Narromine police you must ask for it to be reported and get an event number, otherwise there are no stats,” she said.

“I chose to come to you as a community, because it doesn’t matter what police, council and all the big powers think they can do, because they're running on black and white. But who lives here, us, it’s our town so isn’t it time we start communicating with each other.”

Ms Barnes also informed attendees there is a community police portal for residents to report crime online, which does register incidents of crime and contributes to statistics. 

However Ms Barnes is currently working with Orana Mid-Western Crime Prevention Officer Sergeant Ian Burnes to establish a Neighbourhood Watch group, which is free and accessible through a phone or computer and will let members know what and when something is happening. 

“We need to change our attitude and work with [the police], we need to work as a unit. We can’t make headway with police unless we change the stats.”

“A CEO can’t run a company without employees … so how can three police officers run an entire town”

“At the moment, everyone yelling and screaming and Facebooking and saying what the problems are, we know what the problems are lets try and fix them.”

“If we do nothing, nothing changes.”

READ MORE: Dan Skelly addresses crime concerns in Narromine 

Neighbourhood Watch, established in 1984, is a community based, crime prevention organisation that aims to reduce localised crime and fear of crime by promoting and coordinating multifaceted approaches to prevention and problem solving.

It is part of the broader Neighbourhood Watch Australasia organisation, of which, the NSW Police Force is a participating Board member.