Katanning Police urge for an all of community effort to keep children off the streets after midnight

Katanning police have called for a community-wide effort to keep children off the streets after midnight, after several incidents around town involving children under the age of 12. Senior Sergeant Carlos Correia has spoken out about his concerns regarding the safety and wellbeing of children who are roaming the streets of Katanning in the early hours of the morning. His comments have been prompted by a series late-night disturbances and burglaries. He said the children were putting themselves at risk, as well as other community members. “Some of the kids you come across haven’t been to school this term,” he said. “Sometimes kids resort to carrying weapons, and we don’t want that to happen. “Our fear is one day they are going to get hurt. “Ultimately the responsibility lies with the parents and relatives to look after their welfare, but if they are not we need to look at getting other agencies involved.” He said local police could only do so much to help, and other local agencies needed to support the families. “If we get a kid in (the police station) that takes two officers off the roads,” he said. “It’s always got to be a collaborative approach ... it’s got to be about making things better than they are and we can only do it as a collective. “Everybody plays a part to make sure the health and wellbeing of kids is maintained because we don’t want to see kids being injured or dying because not enough is being done to make them safe. “We need to provide them with opportunities for the future to develop, and sometimes they can’t see a way out, so we need to help them. “The ultimate goal is that every kid has a pathway to being good and to being safe. Our role has to be keeping them on that path, that is where every agency needs to be. It can be fixed, but it won’t be fixed overnight, it is a long-term fix.” Department of Communities executive director of service delivery Lindsay Hale reinforced the value of collaboration to reduce youth offending and increase youth safety in Katanning. “The Department of Communities, Department of Education, WA Police and local service providers are committed to working collaboratively in the best interests of the families involved as well as the broader Katanning community,” he said. “The department has regular meetings with key stakeholders that focus on children at risk as well as regional intensive co-ordination that support addressing these concerns. “The safety and wellbeing of children is always the department’s No.1 priority.”