Hoons push residents near breaking point
ROKEBY residents say they are being terrorised by a gang of dangerous hoons who tear up and down Tollard Drive and set fire to private property.
One disgruntled resident is Patsy Shreeve, who has been putting up with the sound of hooning since she moved into the suburb in 1985.
“It’s not just hooning; we’ve had people setting fire to the grass and tyres out the back of the Joseph St units, we’ve had a few houses broken into up there, a lot of drug dealing,” she said.
“I’ve been burgled. My car was parked out the front. They tried to pinch it but they didn’t get very far. It was just up the road a few metres away because the back end of it fell out.”
She said on one occasion they set fire to a pile of donations at Rokeby Neighbourhood Centre that had been intended for people in need.
Teena Bourne said the burglars were utterly brazen, sometimes striking in the middle of the day. On one occasion her son caught young burglars in the act of stealing his motorbike.
“My son’s motorbike was stolen under the house. It was locked up and everything. I don’t know how they got under the house,” Ms Bourne said.
“He looked down the road and here they are trying to carry his motorbike down the road. They were young adults.” Matthew Cunningham said the hoons often drove around the neighbourhood without helmets or licence plates and that some of them were clearly underage.
Mr Cunningham said they were a menace to pedestrians and to themselves.
“It’s only a matter of time before someone gets killed,’’ he said.
“They’re riding all over the roads with no helmets, going way too fast.
“They do it any time of the day. It happens every day. It’s a constant problem.
“I’ve lived here for 10 years and it’s been going on since I’ve been here. If anything, it’s only gotten worse.” Clarence City Council Mayor Doug Chipman said hooning was a longstanding problem for Rokeby but had become more prevalent in recent years.
Bellerive police Inspector Brett Berry said they had active patrols throughout the Rokeby and Clarendon areas to encourage community compliance.
“Police actively respond to reports of illegal riding and driving in the Rokeby and Clarendon Vale areas,” Inspector Berry said..
THEY’RE RIDING ALL OVER THE ROADS WITH NO HELMETS, GOING WAY TOO FAST. MATTHEW CUNNINGHAM, RESIDENT