LOUTS MORE A WORRY THAN DRUGS

People living on Sydney's north shore are more worried about louts, youth
gangs and car hoons in their neighbourhood than they are about illicit
drugs, a new survey has found.

However residents of the Fairfield and Liverpool area were mostly concerned
about drug crimes and having their homes broken into, according to the NSW
Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research.

Break and enter was by far the most common problem identified in all areas
of NSW with residents of inner western Sydney (52.4 per cent),
Hornsby-Kuringai (50.7) and lower northern Sydney (50.6) recording the
highest levels of fear.

The second biggest problem was dangerous or noisy driving with concern about
this problem ranging from 25 per cent in the St George Sutherland area to 14
per cent in the eastern suburbs, inner Sydney, inner western and lower
northern Sydney areas.

Louts and youth gangs are another area of neighbourhood concern with concern
about it as a problem peaking on the Northern Beaches at 20 per cent, eight
per cent in Lower Northern Sydney and Hornsby Kuringai.

Concern about vandalism was highest in the Eastern Suburbs at 12.6 per cent
followed by Outer Western Sydney at 11.4 per cent then the Northern Beaches
at 9.8 per cent.

Most areas recorded low levels of concern about illegal drugs ranging from
Inner Western Sydney at 2.2 per cent to 2.3 per cent in Lower Northern
Sydney and 2.6 per cent in Hornsby-Kuringai.

But in the Fairfield Liverpool area which encompasses Cabramatta 18 per cent
of residents cited illegal drugs as their main concern behind 31 per cent
who said break and enter and 25 per cent for dangerous driving.

Concern about vandalism and graffiti ranged from 13 per cent in the Eastern
Suburbs to 11 per cent in Outer Western Sydney and seven per cent in Lower
Northern Sydney.

Bureau Director Don Weatherburn said the survey – the first of its kind in
Australia – showed that people were more concerned about issues that
directly affected them. Bureau Director Don Weatherburn said the survey the
first of its kind in Australia