Preventing break-ins and car thefts could soon become a bigger priority for Dubbo council.
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The possibility of developing a community safety and crime prevention plan will be addressed at Thursday night's Dubbo Regional Council meeting.
A similar crime plan was adopted by Tamworth Regional Council in mid-2023. It focuses on four offences: car theft, stealing from cars, break-ins and malicious damage.
Dubbo council hasn't had a crime prevention plan since 2014.
A report on the development of the plan will be presented to the councillors at the meeting.
"There is a noticeable feeling within our community for council to be seen 'doing something' to address actual and perceived community safety and law and order issues in our local government area," council's director of community, culture and places Craig Arms said in the report.
"The reality is, Dubbo Regional Council, although being a significant community leader, has a limited role and capacity to influence the broad and complex area of social cohesion."
He said the main role the council could play in community safety and crime prevention was "to facilitate the coming together of the numerous and diverse government and non-government service providers and advocacy groups" to share information and coordinate efforts.
The council has already spoken to community stakeholders about the crime prevention plan.
Mr Arms said the recurring themes that came from those discussions were around "a disconnection of some elements of our society from the rest, leading to crime activities, a perceived lack of services to support people in need, a perceived lack of policing and inconsistent judicial practices".
A significant finding as the need for a coordinated effort within the local government area, Mr Arms said.
If it goes ahead, the crime prevention plan would also include a youth strategy, developed in collaboration with the youth council and other key stakeholders.
The council director has cautioned against rushing into the crime prevention space without necessary preparation. He said it would require careful planning and construction to ensure its success.
"Further, the building of such a program is a significant commitment and not one that Dubbo Regional Council is currently structured for. It cannot be absorbed into current workload, instead it requires specific resource commitment," Mr Arms said.