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Hi All, Today I found in my corner store a petition raised by a local resident, which I was very happy to sign. The people serving in the shop also were thankful to me for signing and said 'something has to be done'. I certainly agree that something should be done. And that is why it made me very pleased to see a local taking some action, since I too have been this year extremely peeved in connection with the woeful attitude of service displayed by the police in our area. "We, the people of Stratfield call on Premier Bob Carr and the Police Minister Paul Whelan, Member for Strathfield .... etc." The petition asks for Strathfield police station to be more effectively manned. Organised by Rae O'Rourke 9747 2573 and Peter Cipolla 0418 700801 I telephoned Mrs O' Rourke and said I was pleased she was doing this. On the petition is pinned the story, in brief, about why she took this step of mounting a petition (which apparently has so far gained about 3000 signatures). It results from a street attack which her son sustained (I don't recall the full wording but here's the story in brief): Recently my 20 year old son was walking home from Strathfield station after dark, 150m from Strathfield police station. Attacked from behind, punched to the ground, and kicked in the face repeatedly. Robbed of his possessions. His jaw was fractured in two places, and had to be pinned and wired. A senseless attack. ~~~~ Trying to have police investigate this was apparently difficult as they are not interested. I can well believe that too. As I was driving home one night I found a man not far from where I live dead in the gutter (well I suspect he was dead, as a lot of blood had flowed from his mouth onto the road surface and there were no signs of life). An ambulance was called (a helpful taxi driver did this) which quickly arrived and took him away. And on the road were left a few fragments of black plastic-like material, doubtless broken from the bumper or some trim of the vehicle which struck him. As it is a busy road (The Boulevarde, Strathfield) and traffic would have just destroyed these fragments further I gathered them and put them in a bag and took them to the local police station. But as usual there they are so disinterested that it was a struggle to have them note the particulars. These are not isolated instances but unfortunately the norm. Our local police have no idea about public relations. Because I had been robbed twice in the early part of this year, and also a truck was burned out nearby on the street .. I went and asked the police if crime rate was up. The duty policeman's answer across the desk was "How long is a piece of string". I have tried to see Police Minister Paul Whelan, Member for Strathfield. I got as far as seeing him very briefly but he said he was too busy to talk. I will have to try again later. I have emailed the Federal Member of Parliament ... no response from there as yet. And lastly I also took the matter of poor police service, and not knowing our local crime statistics, to the Municipal Council. The matter will be raised there by one of the councillors, at a council meeting soon, and I await to hear of any outcome. The Council has regular liaison with the police service and it might be possible that some improvements can be effected via this means. If you have information relevant to this matter please do send it to me privately. I may be able to share it with others interested(?). I am aware that some international students have had a hard time getting police to help them recently but rest assured that it may not be because of language problems entirely, since police slackness or ultra-poor public relations seems to be presently widespread. It is by no means just a Kensington phenomenon but is alive and well in the west of Sydney too. Tough as it might seem for the police, the public does remain the ultimate source of their pay and they owe it to the public to start delivering a better and more friendly and respectful service, and get over any prima donna tendencies or whatever it is they have in current "police culture" that may be stopping them from rendering good and civil service. And it really doesn't help the public much to be just told that the answer is that they are overworked either. Effective solutions for improving street level policing service have to be found. Anyway, enough on that. Just thought I'd send what I thought was the inspiring news about somebody raising a petition. A small dose of citizen action. Sincerely ~ Wombat To UNSUBSCRIBE, send a 'unsubscribe is-noticeboard' message to : [EMAIL PROTECTED] For any questions or suggestions regarding this list, send an email to '[EMAIL PROTECTED]'
