Wagga council's crime prevention advocates consider options to combat laneway crime

Wagga City Council's crime prevention committee this week considered a variety of solutions that could reduce anti-social and criminal activities running rife across more than 200 pedestrian walkways.

Kat van der Wijngaart, of the Crime Prevention Working Group, said closing a laneway does not necessarily fix the problem. The focus should rather be on solutions that discourage anti-social behaviours, she said.

Among the ideas considered by the group include more signage, links to existing bike paths, a boost in surveillance such as sensor lighting, CCTV and more police patrols, as well as restricted access at night and the installation of bollards.

Mrs van der Wijngaart said effective solutions were determined on a case-by-case basis, however, shifting perceptions so that the community feels a sense of responsibility for any laneway nearby could only be positive.

"It promotes community involvement and pride in the laneway and it is looked at as a positive area rather than a negative area filled with graffiti and anti-social behaviour," she said.

"A closure of a laneway - especially an access one - really is the last resort."

Neighbourhood Watch's Colin Taggart said to an outsider it appeared to be a simple fix - close the laneways - but fixing crime corridors was far more complex and the solutions needed to have longevity.

"We appreciate that the council has looked at this complex issue, which appeared to be simple on the surface," he said.

Although there are some cases of these laneways assisting criminal activities, Mr Taggart said they also provide very good access for residents during the day.

He said that the Crime Prevention Working Group must weigh up all these factors on a case-by-case basis before coming to a final solution.

"It is good the council are thoroughly investigating this and putting time and resources to come up with creative solutions, which are going to be the best for the community," he said.

Wagga mayor Greg Conkey said the city's pedestrian walkways create a difficult situation because they are popular with commuters, but unfortunately some people use them for other purposes.

"It is an issue people are concerned about, but we really need to find out if the community in those areas affected want them open or closed," Councillor Conkey said.

While laneways are less common in the city's newly developed suburbs, Cr Conkey said there are some existing pathways that are problematic, as well as expensive to maintain given that there are hundreds across the Wagga local government area.