Fed up resident fears ‘ slum’

AN AITKENVALE resident says her neighbourhood is “like Harlem” now new public housing and a probation office were put in the Wotton St area.

The resident, who asked to remain anonymous, said Centrelink was a focus area for bad behaviour with an ashtray acting as a magnet for mischief.

“It’s turned into a slum, there’s no other word for it. “It’s just really frustrating.” The Queensland Police Service’s Crime Map showed 95 crimes recorded near the Centrelink office from June 28, 2017, to June 28 this year.

Among recorded offences were 22 incidents of property damage, 13 assaults, six unlawful entries, five Weapons Act offences and five drug offences.

The resident said the ashtray was coming under attack in the middle of the night, with people bashing it and scouring the surrounding area for discarded butts.

She wants the ashtray inside the enclosed compound at Centrelink, fed up with being woken at 2am to sounds of the ashtray being raided.

She said Thursday nights were increasingly bad, as groups of up to 30 young people descended on the area, causing trouble on their way to nearby Stockland shopping centre.

Nearby pharmacy staff said they’d had some issues with young people hanging around the store but hadn’t seen any incidents at the Centrelink office.

A Stockland spokeswoman told the Townsville Bulletin in late June the centre had ramped up security measures following a recent increase in anti- social behaviour.

Measures included upgraded LED security lighting, 24hour CCTV surveillance and the introduction of a security guard and trained dog to patrol outside the centre.

Townsville police district Eastern Patrol Group Inspector Damien Crosby said there had been a recent increase in bag- snatch robberies by young people around the Stockland area.

He said police had a shopfront at Stockland which focused on Thursday nights and days with high volumes of customers and extended trading hours.