Eric Satchell has had his home broken into 15 times in the last ten years and says crime in the street has been “going on for years” but seems to have “escalated badly over the last six weeks.”

“This is the Dubbo the royals did not get to see,” he said.

“These gangs roam the street and break into people’s homes and do other damage; it doesn’t matter if it is in broad daylight or at night, nothing seems to bother them.

“No-one wants to buy in this area, so I can't sell my house. Otherwise, I’d have moved to another area years ago.

“These gangs are all under 16 years of age, from all races, so it’s not racial, it’s kids that know the law and what they can get away with.”

ALSO READ Mark Coulton says National Party leadership speculation is “gossip”

Mayor Ben Shields said crime in Alcheringa Street has always been a problem.

“The department of housing needs to get its act together, they have their heads in the sand and they need to be held accountable for the job they are not doing,” he said.

“If there are troublesome tenants that are causing problems for other residents by forming gangs the department needs to have the courage to turf them out.” 

“Public housing should be considered a privilege and not a right. You can’t have people just running riot and causing havoc without consequences.”

Both Mr Satchell and Cr Shields said the police are doing the best they can under challenging circumstances.

“As soon as the police arrest these people the courts let them go,” Mr Satchell said.

“This problem has been created by the department and the police have had to deal with it,” Cr Shields said.

ALSO READ Royal Visit Dubbo: Ava Hosking talks Suits with Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex

A Family and Community Services (FACS) spokesperson said members of the public can report illegal behavior directly to them.

“The majority of public housing tenants do the right thing,” the spokesperson said.

“Any tenant found to have engaged in antisocial behaviour will be issued with a strike. After three strikes, FACS will seek to end a tenancy through the NSW Consumer and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT).

“Any tenant that engages in severe illegal behaviour on their property will have their tenancy terminated through NCAT.”  

“FACS seeks to end the tenancy as soon as the law allows.”  

Members of the public are urged to report any illegal or antisocial behaviour to NSW Police, Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000 and the FACS Housing Contact Centre on 1800 422 322, 24 hours, 7 days.