The Minns Labor Government is continuing work to create safer communities across regional New South Wales by addressing the concerning rates of youth crime, with over $4 million to support place-based efforts across Bourke and Kempsey.
Government support for place-based initiatives reflects the fact that a one size fits all approach does not work for issues like youth crime in regional communities. This funding means local communities are empowered to make decisions, develop strategies, design programs and decide how resources are used to address local needs.
In Bourke and Kempsey, this funding will match the Commonwealth Government's investment in the Stronger Places, Stronger People program, which supports community-led place-based responses to local issues.
This funding will support the existing successful local teams in each community who work in tandem with Government to develop and implement projects to address identified issues.
This program, which has run since 2019 in these communities has been recognised as having positive impacts including improved social, cultural, health, justice and economic outcomes.
This is part of the Minns Labor Government's ongoing work to crackdown on crime across the state, which has included:
- Amending the Bail Act to include an additional bail test for young people between 14 and 18 charged with committing a 'serious break and enter offence' or motor vehicle offence while on bail for a similar offence.
- Creating a new 'post and boast' offence under the Crimes Act, criminalising the filming and disseminating of footage of certain serious offences to publicise or advertise the commission of that offence.
- Paying recruits to attend the Goulburn Police Academy and welcoming 294 probational constables to the NSWPF ranks in December, the largest class to graduate in a decade.
- Passing and enacting 'Jacks Law' which provides NSW Police with powers to scan people for knives without a warrant and raised the age from 16 to 18 for the sale of knives to young people.
- Doubling the maximum penalty for certain knife crimes.
- Introducing new offences for repeated and serious breaches of Apprehended Domestic Violence Orders.
- Introducing Serious Domestic Abuse Prevention Orders.
- Modernising the definition of 'stalking' to include monitoring a person online.
- Making it harder than ever for alleged domestic violence offenders to get bail.
NSW Premier, Chris Minns said:
"We know that what works in the middle of Sydney won't work for our regional communities, which is why we are making this long-term investment to ensure local knowledge informs the action we take to address local issues.
"We know there is no easy solution to address the issue of crime in our regional communities, but that is why we are pulling every lever possible from law reform to investing in local organisations. "
