Gunnedah locals who have had enough of crime are encouraged to add their name to the Gunnedah crime petition before it closes next month.
Nationals Member for Tamworth, Kevin Anderson, joined Gunnedah Chamber of Commerce President Michael Broekman and Gunnedah Shire Mayor Colleen Fuller in making one final push for signatures.
"The Gunnedah community have had enough of serious crime in their own backyard," Mr Anderson said.
"This petition is about calling on the government to do more to get on top of serious crime, including by implementing 24-hour policing, and increasing police resources.
"Every signature we get sends a strong signal to government that the Gunnedah community have had enough, so I'm calling on the community to go online and add their signature to this petition."
The petition asks the legislative Assembly to call on the Government to:
1. Implement 24-hour on-site staffing at Gunnedah Police Station, ensuring officers are available to respond in real-time to overnight incidents
2. Increase police resourcing in Gunnedah, including staffing levels, patrol capability and crime prevention units
3. Introduce a dedicated, locally-answered Gunnedah police phone line so that calls made to the station during emergencies or disturbances are answered and actioned by on-site officers - rather than being redirected to distant locations.
Gunnedah Shire Mayor and Gunnedah Crime Prevention Working Group Chair Colleen Fuller OAM said 24-hour policing was crucial to help combat crime in the community.
"Residents need to know they can call on our police for assistance and that our police can be there in a timely manner to assist them. And our police need to know that additional resources are available if, and when they are needed," she said.
"There are many elderly and vulnerable people in our community who are concerned for their safety. There are residents who feel they can no longer allow their children to walk or ride bicycles on their own. This is unacceptable.
"Our residents have the right to feel safe in their own homes, their own streets, their own towns. We need a stronger police presence to bring criminals to account and make our Shire safe again.
"I strongly urge Gunnedah Shire residents to sign this important petition, so we can broker positive change in our community."
The e-petition is open until Thursday 5 March and can be signed by any NSW resident on the NSW Parliament website at
https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/la/Pages/ePetition-details.aspx?q=_BPYrWJ6-eVIYklNWDPHFQ
