Left: Flinders MP Greg Hunt speaks to residents worried they’ll lose police presence in Lang Lang – Jan Van Doorn, Michelle Johnson, and Kelly Collins.
By Melissa Meehan
With an after-dark culture of hooning and shop break-ins, Lang Lang residents are wondering why their police station is under threat of closure.
Locals fear their safety could be compromised if the one-man station is turned into a “shop front” once the town’s policeman is moved on for good.
More than 50 residents came together on Friday to show their support to keep the station running in their town and raise their concerns with Flinders MP Greg Hunt.
Spokesman Bob Comber said the town already had to deal with hooning, break-ins and knife attacks because troublemakers knew when there was someone manning the station. He said residents, particularly the elderly, were worried what would happen if there was no police presence in the town.
“At the moment we have the hoons coming slowly into the town, checking to see if a light is on at the station and then hooning up the street when they see no-one is there,” Mr Comber said.
“If they know the closest police are at Drouin, Loch or Kooweerup what’s going to stop them?”
Fellow resident Brian Candy said the town could turn into the Wild West on some nights, with instances of knife attacks and break-ins becoming more regular than not.
“It’s a great town, but we have people coming here from other places and running amok,” he said.
“Lang Lang needs to be a place where we can feel safe, especially the elderly – we deserve to feel safe.
“It’s a town of good people, we just want to make sure the bad eggs don’t take it over.”
Mr Hunt met with residents outside the station on Friday morning and praised them for their hard work thus far.
He said he would work with the community to ensure the station wasn’t turned into a shopfront.
“This is a battle and we will not stop until we’ve been successful,” Mr Hunt said.
Mr Hunt was surprised when many said they had not reported anti-social behaviour or other attacks because they were scared.
“I heard that one elderly lady had people in her backyard causing trouble but didn’t report it because she was scared,” he said.
“We can’t have people scared in their homes – police need to know about these things.”
Shopkeeper Kay McCraw said the push for the station to remain open was to maintain safety in the town.
A petition started only a week ago already has 433 signatures.
Cardinia councillor and former policeman Stuart Halligan said using the station as a “shopfront” was not good enough.
“I know that Kooweerup needs an injection of staff to meet their growing demands,” he said.
“But not at the expense of Lang Lang.”
