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AFTER-HOURS VIOLENCE RALLY

anita.jpg
Anita Donlon is concerned about after-hours violence in the city
Posted by Editor
on 24/02/2010 at 10:22 AM
in BENDIGO NEWS -
A rally will be held in Hargreaves Mall next week aimed at ridding Bendigo of its anti-social violence problem.

Liberal Party candidate for the state seat of Bendigo West Anita Donlon has organised the rally as a response to the city's much-publicised after-hours violence and drunkenness.
 
"Our CBD should be a safe place for shoppers, a great place for businesses and a centre-piece of our community," Ms Donlon said.

"Last week's gang attack has brought back into focus the lack of police numbers in Bendigo."

Ms Donlon challenged Member for Bendigo West and Police Minister Bob Cameron to attend the rally.

"Over the last four years, Mr Cameron has refused numerous requests from the Bendigo Traders Association and our shop owners to meet and develop programs to solve the anti-social problem," she said.

"Anti-social crimes in Bendigo last year were up almost 50 per cent. Our communities and our shopkeepers are now very concerned."

Ms Donlon encouraged the community to attend the rally and send the State Government a message on the shortage of police in Bendigo.

"Our community and our shop owners are saying enough is enough when it comes to anti-social behaviour. We want our streets safe," she said.

The rally will begin at 5pm on Monday in the mall.

Mr Cameron demanded the Liberal Party spell out how many police it intended slash from Central Victoria with its announcement this week it would axe the funds freed up in the budget to employ an extra 120 police.


Mr Cameron said the Liberal Party would scrap the liquor licence fee system, even though the system meant there would be an extra 120 police for the state operational response unit.


“The Liberals will have to axe 120 existing positions for the unit to go ahead,” he said.


“When Ted Baillieu was president of the Liberal party in the 1990s they cut 800 Victorian police.  They are up to their old tricks.


“It’s just like they didn’t support the building of the new Bendigo police station because they promised projects in the Eastern suburbs of Melbourne instead.


“The traders I’ve spoken to in the last couple of years have been concerned about anti-social behaviour and they have told police that.  


“Yet, when police go and target anti-social behaviour the Liberal Party complains.


“Overall crime went down  over 14 per cent in the last financial year in the Bendigo district  That’s a good result with the police and community working together, so why don’t the Liberals want that to happen?


“We have given police tough powers to deal with ant-social behaviour despite Liberal resistance.  For example the Liberals opposed the establishment of a Bendigo Entertainment Precinct where banning notices can be given out.”


1 Comment »

Posted by Pete from Bendigo on 24/02/2010 at 01:58 PM

What crap. You are not in danger and we don't need more cops to save you.

There are two types of people in Bendigo, the day-lifers and the night-lifers. It seems the day-lifers are trying hard to put the night-lifers out of business in Bendigo, and for no good reason.

At night time the night-lifers go out and some get pissed. As always, some are happy drunks and some are not. The angry drunks, which thankfully there's not that many, may even bash each other up. Surely that's their problem, not yours.

As night-lifers mostly accept (and sometimes even encourage) this possibility. It's a part of the fun & adventure that drags you in. Not that you go out to get into a fight but you go out knowing others do.

It's nothing to do with the day-lifers and they should stay out of it unless their own property is damaged or vandalised. Then rightly so, the police should come to arrest and charge the buggers and being drunk should be no excuse in court.

Now apart from drunks punching drunks, look at statistics of how many of day-lifers in Bendigo are actually affected with the loutish behaviour? Maybe 3 a year? Big problem yeah.

Until that figure rises, and dramatically, then you have nothing to complain about. Calling for more cops is a Liberal standard, they think they can scare us with BS then get the community onside to elect them.

I live in a Nth Bendigo street where there's fights and arguments going on every Friday and Saturday night, and it's often out on the street. The cops come and say they can do nothing about them. What's more cops going to do about that if there's nothing they can do about the louts anyway?

It's not like cops are the answer, in fact they cause much of the problem. They are arrogant, often smart-arses and they have a badge to back them up. More cops stepping in simply creates more anger, more enemies to fight and hence there will be more fights. Why don't people see that the more cops there is, the more violent it becomes. All you'll do is cause a bigger argument and more violence by bringing in more cops.

I call for more social workers rather than the tough hand of the law. Violence just breeds violence.

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