General News
17 August, 2023
Police to host community forum in Maryborough
Residents from Maryborough and surrounds will be able to discuss policing issues with local authorities at a community safety session scheduled for next week. Police officials will be on hand to engage with locals from the Central Goldfields, Mount...
Residents from Maryborough and surrounds will be able to discuss policing issues with local authorities at a community safety session scheduled for next week.
Police officials will be on hand to engage with locals from the Central Goldfields, Mount Alexander and Loddon shires as part of the upcoming Goldfields Police Service Area CommSafe forum, set to be held on Wednesday, August 23 at the Maryborough Community Hub.
A panel consisting of representatives from local specialist units and police stations — including Deputy Commissioner Rick Nugent, Assistant Commissioner Western Region Michael Grainger and Superintendent Brad Dixon — will tackle a range of matters that affect the community, with a special focus on issues relating to crime, family violence, drugs and road policing.
“It’s an opportunity for people to hear, from the executive command, about what’s impacting their community,” Goldfields PSA Acting Inspector Della Nihill said.
“There’s also the opportunity to hear from local police to see how we’re going about tackling some of those issues.
“The other part is that we want to hear from the community too, they can ask us questions. We want to know what they’re seeing in their local areas — it’s a two-way conversation.”
According to Act Insp Nihill, concerns and suggestions put forward at the event could be used in the future to inform policing decisions.
“A facilitator will be present at the forum and they will be taking notes throughout the session,” she said.
“We will be provided with an overview of the [community’s input] after the event and it will allow the local police and the local area commander to speak with the relevant officers to see what [those suggestions] would look like [in practice].
“It’s a massive learning event, probably more for us than the community itself. They will get to ask questions but it’s just as beneficial for us.”
Hoping to get around 80 to 100 people in attendance, Act Insp Nihill said the forum was not one to be missed.
“It’s going to give people a really good understanding of what’s actually happening in their community,” she said.
“Getting to hear from our executive command is not something that happens a lot and although we do have surveys that people fill in, there’s nothing better than having these face to face
conversations.
“We do encourage people to come along and have some afternoon tea on us. They can listen and also ask us questions they might have always wanted to ask.”
The session will be held for three hours, from 12.30 pm onwards — at the community hub on 48 Burns Street, Maryborough.
Those interested can register their attendance by emailing the event coordinator at maryborough. uni@police.vic.gov.au