Teen terrors

By Melissa Meehan
ROWDY teenagers running amok in Pakenham have been put on notice.
The Cardinia Shire Council and Pakenham Police are working together to curb anti-social behaviour in the town after yet another weekend of trouble.
Pakenham resident Lisa Willems contacted the News because she’s “tired of calls to police being ignored”.
“It happens almost every weekend, young kids running crazy in the park opposite the Public Hall and Skate Park,” she said.
“Each week I call police and they never come until long after the kids are gone.”
Ms Willems said she contacted police at around 2am last Saturday morning, and her call was again ignored.
“When I rang police they said they were far too busy for a situation like this,” she said.
“But it’s becoming a nuisance.”
Pakenham Senior Sergeant Alan McCarthy said while unsocial behaviour was an important issue in the community; it was often difficult for police with limited resources to attend all incidents if another incident in Cardinia needed police support.
“I would encourage residents to contact triple-0,” he said.
“But I also ask them to keep in mind that just because the Pakenham unit is based in town, it doesn’t mean we only cover Pakenham – we cover the whole Cardinia district and then some.”
He said both police and the council were working together to curb the problem, but relied on members of the public to share information.
“We have regular tasking meetings with the shire and issues like the skate park, community safety and anti-social behaviour all ties into that,” he said.
“But we need members of the public to give us the information that we can base our patrols on.”
Cardinia Shire Council spokesman Paul Dunlop said that the council was aware of the youth issues at PB Ronald Reserve and had advised Pakenham police of the issue.
“It is also the responsibility of parents to ensure they know their children’s whereabouts and can vouch for their behaviour and safety,” he said.
He said the council was committed to providing positive opportunities for young people in the shire.
Anyone with information on anti-social behaviour in Pakenham is asked to contact 1800 333 000.