CHARITY FORCED TO PAY FOR GUARDS

Vinnies forced to pay out of its own pocket due to vandals, thieves

A SPATE of vandalism, thefts and illegal dumpings has forced a Toowoomba Vinnies store into paying out of its own pocket for security guards.

The move comes just a week after the store, on the corner of Ruthven and Long Sts, announced it was installing CCTV cameras to deter thieves and vandals from the premises.

“We’re just doing it on a trial basis to see whether that assists with the issues because we have to break the cycle of what is happening there,” executive officer of the St Vincent de Paul Society’s Toowoomba diocese Kathie Brosnan said.

“It is costing us an awful lot of money. It’s more than $50,000 a year to dispose of unsellable items and there have been a couple of issues with illegal vandalism and theft too.

“It’s an overall problem throughout (Toowoomba) but it has got to the point where it is not sustainable any more.”

The security guards will be keeping watch over the premises on weekends when Ms Brosnan said “most of the problems occur”.

“There is no need to steal from the society and we’d like to educate the public,” Ms Brosnan said.

“We are there to help anybody and if people are in crisis and aren’t able to assist themselves that’s what we are there for.

“We don’t want to deter people from donating because we appreciate the donations that we get and we do not want them to stop.”