Police Monthly May 2013 - NSW Police Force

Making a
Splash,
A group of young people from remote NSW recently
visited Sydney as part of a joint NSWPF initiative.
STORY AMANDA BEADMAN
POLICE MONTHLY
IMAGES CHRIS ALLEN PHOTOGRAPHY
No one who saw Brandy Lamb
take to the surf on Bondi Beach
last month would have guessed
she was from an isolated town 821
kilometres west.
Well-balanced on her surfboard
and carefree with the waves, the
14-year-old seemed like a natural on
the nation’s most well-known strip
of sand, although she was modest
about her abilities.
“I think I’m ok at surfing,” she said.
“Although a lot of times I was just
getting smashed by the waves.”
Brandy was one of 10 Aboriginal
kids visiting from Goodooga, a rural
remote town in northern NSW.
The trip, with a packed itinerary
spanning seven days, was organised
by NSWPF officers, Aboriginal
Community Liaison Officers from
Walgett Police Station and staff from
Goodooga High School.
According to Brandy, the initiative
has the potential to change young
lives for the better.
“Trips like this help kids make the
right choices, instead of turning to
drugs and things like that,” she said.
“It makes us feel more positive
about things.”
Aboriginal people comprise
around 80% of Goodooga’s modest
population of less than 300, with 29%
of the Aboriginal population aged
under 15.
Aboriginal communities within
the town and its surrounding areas
are plagued by high unemployment
rates, substance abuse and domestic
violence.
Walgett Det Snr Cst Dane Poole
was one of the officers who helped
make the Goodooga to Sydney trip
a reality.
Having worked across Sydney for
10 years in areas such as Redfern,
Newtown, Ashfield, and the Eastern
Suburbs, he said the communities
around Walgett – including Goodooga
– had presented him with a new set
of challenges.
“The local children have very few
role models in their communities.
School attendance is significantly low
and a vast quantity of the local crime
can be attributed to juveniles,” Det
Snr Cst Poole said.
22 PoliceMonthly MAY 2013