POLICE AND LEAGUE LEGEND TACKLING TROUBLED SUBURB
ANTI-POLICE attitudes in West Cairns are slowly being turned around thanks to a massive grassroots campaign, but officers know more work is needed.
Yesterday, housing department staff and officers from the Safer Streets Taskforce swapped yarns with residents at Mooroobool, eager to hear what was working and what wasn’t.
Part of regular “co-responder visits” started two years ago, the neighbourhood tour followed reports by the Cairns Post this week highlighting the social woes still plaguing the suburb.
On Wednesday, it was reported a group of local elders had banded together to demand the multi-agency response pick up its game and put an end to near nightly partying, drinking and fights in a park on Frances St.
Cairns Safer Streets project manager Brad Winks said entrenched anti-police attitudes made his job “very difficult”, but the way to improve relations was clear.
“These are issues that are 70 or 80 years in the making – it’s not going to happen overnight,” he said.
“One of the messages we’ve received loud and clear is the community no longer want to have the government come out here, telling them how we’re going to fix problems for them.
“We have 10 projects run- ning at the moment ... all that work is around enhancing community safety and reducing juvenile recidivism rates.”
Among those projects are regular rugby league workshops to inspire young people. Once a week, a bus load of elders also heads to the Cleveland Youth Detention Centre in Townsville to provide guidance to offenders.
Mother-of-four Jaman Banu grew up in Mooroobool and recently moved back after spending time in Tully.
She said she felt the Safer Streets officers wanted to help, but that the neighbourhood had become worse since she first moved away.
“It’s a bit different now that I have kids, I want to protect them,” she said.
“I haven’t been staying here on weekends, when something is happening ... I escape.”