CUL-DE-SAC WHERE CALLING THE COPS IS A DEAD END

A parliamentary inquiry into police resources in Cabramatta has been told
that many of the suburb's residents don't bother reporting crimes because
they can't communicate with the police.

Fairfield Councillor Thang Ngo told the committee that none of the 140
local police officers spoke an Asian language.

The inquiry was told that homes in Avonlea Street, Canley Heights, near
Cabramatta, were broken into about 85 times in six months but police
records showed only nine burglaries.

A resident, Ngoc, who did not wish to be identified, said his home was
burgled four times between November 1999 and April this year.

Once he contacted police with the help of a neighbour. Police visited the
house but did not take details of the incident after being told he was not
insured.

When he tried to report another robbery at the station, police told him
they were too busy. "They said go home and ring later," he said.

On average, the 40 families living in the quiet cul-de-sac have each been
burgled more than twice in the same six-month period.

Cr Ngo told the committee that police had only one Vietnamese-speaking
ethnic liaison officer, working from 9am to 5pm, and that no-one spoke
Chinese, a language spoken by 11 per cent of the population.

He had never seen NSW police recruitment advertisements in ethnic
newspapers, even though such a drive by the Victorian police had been
successful.

The head of the Cabramatta Chamber of Commerce, Mr Ross Treyvaud, told the
committee that police lacked resources and had made "no honest attempt" to
deal with Cabramatta's drug problem.

Only one officer at the station was responsible for investigating drug
crimes, and the Cabramatta area command did not have the same support
programs for victims of crime as other areas in the State.

The local mayor, Labor's Cr Robert Watkins, praised the efforts of the
State Government and local Labor MP Ms Reba Meagher, saying matters had
improved since surveillance cameras were introduced.

A police spokesman said no comment could be made on the evidence because
the inquiry was continuing.