EXCLUSIVE
THE remote north-western NSW town of Bourke has topped the state in six of the eight major crime categories in the past 12 months, prompting a call for a ''full-hearted attack'' to fix drug and alcohol problems in the town.
The latest crime figures, compiled and ranked by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research on local government areas, show the town of 3000 has the highest assault rate in the state, along with break-ins and car thefts.
Family ... Felecia with her son Zade from Alice Edwards village, an aboriginal community in Bourke. Photo: James Brickwood
When compared with United Nations data, the crime rate of the Darling River town makes it more dangerous per capita than any country in the world.
The bureau's director, Don Weatherburn, said the crime problem in Bourke, as well as in other regional areas with a high Aboriginal population such as Moree Plains and Cobar, was the forgotten law and order issue in the state.
Dr Weatherburn said a ''full-hearted attack'' on drug and alcohol abuse in these towns was needed and should involve police and the health and community services departments.
''It's a tragedy on all fronts,'' Dr Weatherburn said. ''When everyone thinks about crime, they think about south-western Sydney. They don't think about north-west and western NSW.'' Bourke also had the highest rate of property damage and theft in the state.
The central business district in Sydney had the second-highest assault rate, and the highest rate of robbery - more than double that of anywhere in NSW.
Other urban areas including Marrickville, Parramatta, Burwood and Randwick also had high robbery rates but, aside from car-related theft, suburban Sydney was absent from the top 20 lists in the other major crime categories.
''Everyone is focused on the big drop in crime … but the urban areas have been the principal beneficiaries of that,'' Dr Weatherburn said. ''The rural areas have come down but by nowhere near as much and because the focus is always on what goes on in urban areas, no one pays too much attention.''
Having both Bourke and Moree Plains in the top 10 areas for robbery was notable because it was something that would not have occurred 25 years ago, Dr Weatherburn said, because ''bashing someone for their wallet was something you just did not do in country towns''.
Bourke's acting crime manager, Sergeant Chris Neaves, said crime in the town was opportunistic and primarily committed by disadvantaged youth.
The big crime spike occurred at night and during the school holidays.
''Most of [the young people] would rather roam the streets than go home because most of them are living in situations that are not ideal,'' Sergeant Neaves
said. ''When we pick them up and drop them off at home, we might have to go to two or three different houses to find one that's safe to drop them off.
''And they might go in the front door and then straight out the back door.''
He said violent crimes had dropped by a third as a result of alcohol restrictions that came into effect in 2009 and the severity of other crimes had decreased.
A solicitor with the Aboriginal Legal Service, David Pheeney, said Bourke had problems ''like anywhere else'' but it was unfair to stereotype the town.
''I think it's a reflection of the multitude of factors. You're looking at poverty, unemployment, social disadvantage, drug and alcohol issues, too,'' he said. ''Those factors have built up over time.''
Bourke has 40 police in a town of fewer than 3000 people and Mr Pheeney said that while they were ''professional'', that concentration of officers meant crimes would be picked up that ''might go unnoticed somewhere else''.
''The over-policing is also going to reflect in the crime rates,'' he said. ''They do approach their job really well but there's always that historical context to the relationship.
''It goes back to perhaps the removal of children and deaths in custody. There's always that mistrust there, that suspicion. It's an interesting environment, Bourke. It's a hard environment.''
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