United vow to protect

A NORLANE man is fatally stabbed outside his home trying to stop a street fight between two groups of partygoers. His death leaves a child without a father and a mother without a son.

The teen who pleads guilty to the crime is sentenced to eight years in prison, with a nonparole period of four years and nine months. The Supreme Court Justice said the sentence took into account the time the offender had already served in Barwon Prison’s Grevillea unit and his prospects of rehabilitation.

These factors were of little consequence to Nathan Gent’s mother Anne, who could not believe that taking her son’s life only equated to around five years imprisonment.

“So he can get out in another four and half years and kill someone else?” she asked outside court yesterday.

The rising rate of youth crime and questions over rehabilitation and sentencing were certainly on the minds of the 300-plus people who crowded into a Leopold hall to attend a community crime forum the night before.

Crime victims sat with their worried neighbours to ask police representatives what could be done about the growing number of crimes occurring in their community. One Drysdale family spoke of the lasting trauma from their home’s recent break-in, telling of $100,000 of stolen memories and a legacy of emotional turmoil

Police Minister Lisa Neville pledged more police resources for the region and, by meeting’s end, the Leopold community had vowed to re-establish a Neighbourhood Watch to help protect each other.

These feelings of fear, anger and desperation have become the new reality for many. Police are addressing the depth of feeling by holding similar crime forums across the region to arm residents’ with tips to try to help restore community safety.

It is a terrific initiative to address a growing problem. By banding together, our community has the potential to take back our streets — and prevent more senseless deaths such as Nathan Gent.