Page 3461 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 25 November 1992
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If, for example, the problem in Civic is that development is too dispersed, leaving people to walk significant distances to their own or public transport, then thought and consideration shall be given to ways to overcome those issues in the longer term. The redevelopment of Civic revolves around the current discussions about Garema Place, which Mr Wood has talked about, and may be a good place to start. In the 1988 publication of the Institute of Criminology, Crime Prevention, Susan Geason and Paul Wilson outlined the processes involved in how to develop a crime prevention program. One of the first and most important priorities identified by the two criminologists was the need to draw up a crime map of the area under consideration.
Their research points out that, while you can identify a problem in an area, if it is not quantified and qualified and the location of the crimes being committed is not carefully studied, then remedial measures taken may just shift the crime. In Civic we need to identify the location of the crimes reported and the types of crimes and then consider all strategies which will bring about workable solutions. I look forward to hearing the outcome of the discussion forum to be held on Friday of this week or possibly Monday of next week, which will seek to eliminate as far as possible the occurrence of the crimes that are of concern to us all.
MRS CARNELL (4.09): I will speak very briefly. I think a lot of the important things that need to be said have been said on both sides. I am very pleased to see a bipartisan or non-partisan approach to this important issue.
One issue that has not been spoken about quite as much, though, is the problem during the day. Ms Szuty made some comments about the problems that exist for those who are unemployed and Mr Wood made some very good comments about redevelopment of the Garema Place area. I know that the shopkeepers in the Garema Place area have concerns that the chess pit is used as a congregating place for people who are unemployed. Once they are there, there is really nothing to do. That is causing most of the problems. Sitting around in the chess pit all day cannot be terribly stimulating for anybody. That is where I think the shoplifting and vandalism problems that Mr Humphries spoke about become a problem for the shopkeepers, the traders, in the area. That is when we see some of the drug problems. I heard from one shopkeeper the other day that some very young children were found to have stolen some hair spray and were sniffing it in one of the alleyways. In fact, I think the children were as young as 10 and ended up being hospitalised. You could only assume that that sort of behaviour happens when there is just nothing else to do.
Another public safety problem that has not been raised is the problem of skateboarders and rollerbladers in the Garema Place area. It is a pedestrian thoroughfare. It is an area where people are trying to make their living out of coffee shops and shops generally. Skateboarders and rollerbladers zooming past their front doors, as one of the shopkeepers told me this morning, is causing shopkeepers quite substantial problems. In fact, one trader told me that three elderly people had been skittled in the last month outside the shops. That is just as much a public safety problem for those elderly people as is being bashed after hours. Those people feel unsafe in the Garema Place area. Let us be fair. We have encouraged elderly people to live in the Civic environs. It is appropriate for ageing people to live in the flats and other accommodation in that area. If we do not make it safe for them to shop in the Civic area we have a problem as a community. I can understand them feeling very fearful, and I believe that it is important that we stop rollerbladers and skateboarders from using the pedestrian thoroughfares that shoppers use and stop that fear problem that they have.
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