TAMWORTH residents calling for action after a spate of violent attacks and vicious sexual assaults have been warned a dog squad will not eliminate crime.
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The cautionary message came yesterday from NSW Police deputy commissioner Nick Kaldas during a visit to town to meet with Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson.
"I'm not sure that a dog in town will stop all crime," he said. "I'm very conscious of over-promising or people thinking that the dog will be the answer to the problems of crime in the area.
"They are very, very useful and they do an awful lot of good and they act as a deterrent when they are in towns.
"Certainly our sense is that the community feels safer and the crooks who do bad things feel that there's more chance of getting caught."
The meeting, at which Western Region assistant commissioner Geoff McKechnie and NSW Police Dog Unit superintendent Donna Adney were also present, appeared to move Tamworth one step closer to securing a dog squad.
A "business plan" requesting extra police resources will be put forward to NSW Police commissioner Andrew Scipione, with a decision expected in a matter of weeks.
"To have the state's senior police in Tamworth was a real indication of how seriously they are taking our push to have more resources allocated to the Oxley LAC and I believe they were sympathetic towards the challenges we face," Mr Anderson said.
Mr Kaldas said the visit had been planned for some time and was not in response to the recent bashing of a 90-year-old woman in her Winston Pl home last week.
