From the desk of Roland Rocchiccioli

THE Ballarat Victoria Police Neighbourhood Policing Forum ­— October 15 — invites local services and community members to engage with police and to discuss those safety issues which affect their specific neighbourhood.Policing has become more nuanced — criminals more cunning; crimes more daring. The ‘wicked problems’ are a universal challenge. They require the community’s collective determination to achieve a result. To posit Ballarat is less safe, or more dangerous, than other locations in Australia would be an overstatement — a serious misnomer.

The panel at the Ballarat Victoria Police Neighbourhood Policing Forum will be chaired by acting Superintendent Jason Templar. Importantly, there will be an opportunity for the public to ask questions of Assistant Commission Michael Granger APM; a deputy Commissioner; and possibly Victoria’s new Chief Commissioner of Police, Mike Bush.

The forum is an opportunity for concerned members of the public, various of the stakeholders, and interested parties, to meet with senior police and to join in an amicable exchange of ideas aimed at solving the cumulative challenges; to examine current crime trends and prevention; family violence; road policing; and drug related crime. Also, it is chance for Ballarat police to explain the application of a range of meaningful methodologies and protocols. Without community support police are hampered in their capacity meet the challenges which bedevil both Ballarat, and the Nation.

The police can only function within the strictures of the law. The instinct to complain and apportion blame does nothing to advance the communal narrative, or progress change. The confronting challenges are collective. A satisfactory result can only be achieved by combining of our formidable energies. Resolution requires a concerted effort on the part of all those affected. We should be able to move around the city, at any time of day-or-night, freely, and without let or hinderance. Regrettably, it is no longer the way of the world. The perpetrators lack of regard for, or ignorance of, social conventions must not be allowed to deprive us of our liberties, or enjoyment.

Worryingly, absurd conspiracy theories abound. Social media platforms have gifted racist and fanatical, law-breaking conspiratorialists a megaphone to the world. They must be preventive from promoting their dangerous diatribe. It is not phantastical to believe there are dark forces at play. There are those who would do us a mischief; who would wreak havoc in their implacability to divide the Nation; and to undermine our system of government.

The spirit of community has never been more crucial; arguably, with the disintegration of social mores our reliance upon law enforcement has never been greater — but the police cannot do it alone. If we expect them to meet the challenges and to break the pattern of lawlessness, then we must become their eyes-and-ears — a sympathetic source on which they can rely.

Equally, social prophylaxis is not the answer. To turn away from the challenges, in the expectation of someone else tackling the task, only serves to embolden the offenders. The silent majority must rule. Those who are creating a public nuisance — encroaching on our safety — and disrupting our lives — must be brought-to-heel.

OCTOBER 15 Morshead Park Soccer Stadium 910 Pleasant Street South Redan Arrival from 5.45pm — forum 6-8pm.

BOOKINGS ESSENTIAL: Eventbrite.com Police Forum.

or search: Ballarat PSA Neighbourhood Policing Forum.

COMPLIMENTARY TICKETS AND REFRESHMENTS

Roland can be heard with Brett Macdonald radio 3BA — Monday 10.40am. Contact: [email protected]