WHEN you ride in a cab, the last thing you’d expect is for a rock to be pelted through the front windscreen.
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But it’s an unfortunate and shocking reality in Tamworth, as drivers report a spike in kids targeting their cabs by hurling stones at them.
It is a downright callous, careless and senseless act, and one that the city’s crime fighters are taking a hard-line stance on.
And rightfully so.
Drivers should have the right to feel safe every time they go to work, just as passengers should be afforded the same right when they step foot in a cab. To hear that kids are largely responsible for such offences is alarming. There has been so much debate in local media over juvenile crime.
Some argue that locking up re-offenders and throwing away the key is the answer, while others push for rehabilitation.
We only need to look at the success of Youth Insearch to see what difference a youth support program can provide to troubled kids.
And there’s no doubt juveniles carrying out these crimes are troubled.
To hurl stones at innocent passing taxis from an overpass is stupid and dangerous.
There has been six reports of it occurring from the same overpass on Gunnedah Road, as well as once on Kable Avenue.
The rocks are being hurled at such force that one went through a windscreen, causing thousands of dollars of damage.
Tamworth Taxi director Greg Rowland is right when he says the issue “needs to be nipped in the bud quickly”.
Something needs to be done before it is too late.
It might only take one more rock to be thrown for someone to be seriously injured – or even worse.
Tamworth’s Crime Prevention Working Group has moved to install additional lighting at the overpass near Stewart Avenue and Warral Road.
More lights are a good deterrence to help curb these crimes.
Tamworth councillor and Crime Prevention Working Group chairman Russell Webb believes the answer lies in a longer-term solution that will see youth “occupied rather than being out vandalising”.
He’s dead right. We need to look at ways to support these troubled youth and get them back on track. It is pleasing to see police, council and the taxi co-op working together to tackle the issue.