WHEN serious criminal offences occur, media outlets fall over each other to report every blood-soaked detail.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
When serious criminals remain at large or are given a soft sentence by the courts, community members are just as eager to sink the boot into police and magistrates.
So it seems only fair that when crime takes a beating, as it did in Tamworth last year, these same people give credit where it’s deserved.
Just-released figures from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics reveal sharp falls across most major offence categories in the Tamworth local government area in 2013.
Home break-ins dropped by almost a third on the previous year, while there was a staggering 19 per cent drop in assaults.
Of course, the pages of this newspaper in recent months are testament to how quickly crime rates can change.
Particularly in relation to break-and-enters, it takes only the release of a handful of habitual offenders to dramatically reverse a positive trend.
But while it may be true the community has been subjected to a number of high-profile assaults and home invasions this year, it is equally true that it remains a relatively safe place to live.
And we should never forget we owe that, at least in part, to the courage and commitment of our local police.
It can’t be said enough that police do a job few of us would ever contemplate doing.
Each day, when they strap on their holsters, officers are putting their lives at risk to protect the good – and not-so-good – people of Tamworth.
They are the thin blue line between order and chaos, and when something goes wrong, even their staunchest critics are the first to call them for help.
Tamworth LAC commander Clint Pheeney, his experienced duty officers and those police on the front line deserve our unflinching respect and admiration for a job well done.
Their professionalism and commitment to their jobs has made our community a safer place to live.
And, with our continued support, there’s no reason why that can’t continue.