It seems like barely a day goes by without a report of at least one person being violently assaulted in Wagga. But are we becoming more violent, or simply worrying about it more often?
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According to the Bureau of Crime Statistics, the rate of non-domestic assault in Wagga has actually fallen by three per cent in the past 10 years. In the year to September 2007, there were 482 incidents, compared to 390 in the year to September 2016.
However, domestic assaults are up by 4.5 per cent for the same period, from 271 in 2006 to 428 in 2016. Harassment and threatening behaviour is also up by 3.1 per cent.
There are many reasons being touted for this kind of bad behaviour – from drugs and alcohol to a lack of respect for other people and their property – and while everyone will point their finger at a problem, fewer have ways of actually solving those social ills.
While the boffins will no doubt debate the matter to within an inch of its life, the rest of us will be left to live in a society that feels more dangerous, even if the data disagrees.
That feeling of fear that comes upon us when walking down a dark laneway at night is driven by a combination of primal instincts, our experiences and our beliefs. Dark, strange places put us all on edge, making us afraid and sending a cold shiver down our backs. It’s the fight-or-flight mechanism at play that for thousands of years kept us safe from lions and tigers and bears.
For those who have been in a violent situation or had a bad experience at night, the dark laneway might bring back memories that prevent us from getting into trouble again.
Then there are the beliefs we hold about dark laneways and the media almost certainly has to shoulder part of the blame here. No-one has ever written a story about a dark laneway that’s completely safe.
In fact, that’s part of the reasoning behind reporting crime and violence: We can share one person’s bad experience so others don’t have to go through it as well.
Still, there’s only one person responsible for the way people feel, the way they act and the way they react to any given situation: The individual. And it’s the individual who must own that responsibility and live up to it.
British philosopher Bertrand Russell said “fear is the main source of superstition and one of the main sources of cruelty… to conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom”.
If we are afraid of what goes on outside of our doors, perhaps we would do well to look it squarely in the eye and conquer it.
