Police face the public over a cuppa

Leading Senior Constable Nick Carlson faced a crowd of around 30 locals on Friday, May 15, listening to all of their questions and concerns as part of the Cuppa with a Cop initiative.

The free event was hosted by the Myli Library in Wonthaggi, and was held from 10am to 11am, giving attendees the chance to sit down with police in a relatively informal setting.

Leading Senior Constable Carlson said many of the questions were centred around safety, particularly safety around homes and personal belongings.

“I think some of the most prevalent ones, particularly around here, are safety,” he said.

“Safety in their homes and safety around their belongings, like cars and things like that, and getting broken into are probably the most relevant things.”

The crowd fired questions that covered a range of issues, including bail and remand, theft, drug and alcohol-related offending, and the visibility of police at local police stations.

One attendee raised concerns about the Inverloch Police Station, and how it “doesn’t seem to be manned,” with Leading Senior Constable Carlson explaining that local stations were staffed, but officers are often out responding to incidents.

He said that police don’t always have enough staff to keep every station door open like it is in Wonthaggi.

Many questions around theft were also raised, with Leading Senior Constable Carlson encouraging residents to take measures to make their property a more difficult target for thieves, saying simple things like locking doors, motion sensor lights and even having a barking dog can be enough to make thieves move on.

“Thieves are often very lazy,” he said.

There were also some lighter moments, including discussions around often misunderstood laws.

“A lot of people think driving in thongs is illegal. If that were the case, I would arrest myself most days,” Leading Senior Constable Carlson said.

He went on to explain that events like Cuppa with a Cop are important because they allow residents to speak with police outside of the four walls of a police station.

“Not many people actually go to the police station unless they’re having a bad day,” he said.

“This gives great access to police, and they can ask all sorts of questions. Nothing’s off the table.”

Myli Library programs officer Sabine Aeschlimann said the library was a great place for events such as these.

“We’ve got people from all areas of the community that come into this library,” she said.

“It’s been so popular. We try to do it quarterly, and the local community always supports it.”