Speeding and driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol continues to plague the streets of Corowa despite an increased police presence according to Corowa Police Sergeant Steve Marshall, who says it’s only a matter of time before they’re caught.
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“We still get a high number of people either speeding or driving under the influence,” Sgt Marshall said.
“Because of the fatal car crashes that we had in January, we've seen a need to increase Highway Patrol presence around Corowa.
“You’ll see a lot more of them getting around now; it has made a real dent into our persons driving under the influence.”
Sgt Marshall said that because they know who the drug offenders are, they’ve flagged a lot of their vehicles, so they’re noticed by police around town more easily.
“Many of them have been picked up numerous times while driving, so it's not a case of if, but when they’ll get caught,” he said.
“When we're doing proactive patrols at night, you can guarantee we're going to pull out the lick sticks (the sticks used for drug testing at roadside stoppages).”
Action has already been taken against a young person responsible for a series of burnouts around town, something Sgt Marshall and Rutherglen’s Sgt Mick Savage are jointly targeting.
“The primary offender is a young person; we know who it is and action has been taken,” Sgt Marshall said.
Sgt Steve Marshall from Corowa Police says it’s only a matter of time before people driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs are caught.
No tolerance for graffiti and vandalism
A spate of vandalism and graffiti attacks around Corowa, which have drawn the ire of residents, have been dealt with by local and Albury police.
Sgt Marshall said a young person from Albury was behind graffiti spotted across both towns, including at least one police vehicle.
“We apprehended a young boy from Albury in connection with the graffiti you see around town,” he said.
“He was brought back to the police station for questioning and released without charge.
“He later moved into Albury, where he continued graffitiing; police were able to positively identify him as responsible for similar graffiti in the Albury area and he was subsequently charged with those matters.
“He even graffitied one of the police cars.”
Police also took a report of further graffiti at the Corowa skate park between July 3 and 8.
Recent posts on Facebook community pages have highlighted three young people causing damage to several properties around Corowa.
Sgt Marshall said a young person had been dealt with under the Young Offenders Act in relation to the latest attack involving the trio that saw a fence damaged on Queen St.
Police were unable to comment further on the incident, other than to say the matter was closed.
