Almost 100 landholders and interested parties gathered to talk to the Member for Barwon Kevin Humphries and former NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Stephen Bradshaw. 

Farmers told horror stories of being assaulted on their own properties and being intimidated by illegal trespassers. 

Mr Humphries believes now is the time to address these rural crimes. 

“It’s a significant issue, it’s not just rural crime, but the issue of trespass,” he said. 

“Landholders have been put on the back foot and the issue is not going away, it’s starting to increase.” 

He has attributed a recent rise in trespass and stock theft to the increased price of goats. 

Mr Humphries and Asst Comm Bradshaw encouraged landholders to advise how to reform rural crime laws.

Both men said they’d like to see harsher penalties. 

“We’ve been considering raising the penalties, $550 is cheap entry to private land,” Asst Comm Bradshaw said. 

Many farmers used the opportunity to talk about how’d they’d been abused at their own properties. 

Farmer Andrew McGrath lives over 100kms from Nyngan and is concerned about the welfare of his livestock.

“I’ve been assaulted once, a bloke jumped out of his car to have a piece of me,” he said. 

“Last year they (illegal hunters) lost their dog and refused to leave, so I called the police and they did nothing about it.”

His story was mirrored by many others who felt they were not supported by the police. 

Mr Humphries believes the Local Area Command (LAC) model, law enforcement currently falls under, is not successful in rural and remote NSW. 

“We need local policing in rural areas, the LAC model is not working. LAC model is not the best policing out here. People are not taking rural crime as seriously and we need to build a profile to change the law,” he said. 

Kerry Wright, who lost almost 30 sheep in a vicious hunting dog attack earlier this year, expressed concerns about the role of the ranger as opposed to the role of the police. 

“I had to fight pretty hard to get anyone to notice, but if it’s not the rural crime investigators job who’s is it,” she asked. 

Mr Humphries agreed, there are some issues with responsibilities and who is involved with compliance, particularly of dangerous dogs.

“We need to establish the difference between law, policy and he way of doing business, some jurisdictions are quite clear on what their roles are, others are not,” he said.

Mayor and local land holder Ray Donald wants action taken by the NSW Government before it’s too late. 

“I believe this community can take action. I believe this can happen or (eventually) we’re going to get two parties coming together, one illegal, both with guns and we know what’s going to happen,” he said. 

“This has to happen quickly, let’s see something come out of these meetings.”

Mr Donald would also like to dangerous dog removed from town. 

“I don’t think there should be allowed to be dogs in town that are dangerous. I don’t think they should be allowed where we have kids on the street,” he said.

“Allow the community to inform council or the ranger where all these dogs are and they can go around an inspect them.”

Mr Humphries and Mr Bradshaw toured around western NSW from Broken Hill and Ivanhoe to Nyngan and Coonamble and all places in between.

Mr Bradshaw will be compiling a report to submit to police minister Troy Grant by June 7.