Summary of the Community Safety Forum
Event Infomation
Date: Tuesday 10th of June 2025
Location: Alexandria Park Community School
Attendees: Approximately 90 attendees. Attendees ranged from local residents, parents of students at local schools, community leaders and local organisation representatives, NSW police.
Speakers:
Deputy Lord Mayor of Sydney Zann Maxwell
NSW Advocate for Children and Young People Zoe Robinson
Superintendent Andrew Garner Commander of South Sydney Police Area Command
Tony Pang OAM from the Chinese Australian Services Society
Background: In response to recent violent incidents and rising concerns about community safety, particularly among residents of Green Square, Zetland, and neighbouring suburbs, a community forum was convened to hear directly from residents, police representatives, youth advocates and community leaders.
Summary of concerns raised at the Community Safety Forum
Public Safety & Crime Trends
Increase in Crime: Residents are concerned about rising assaults, poor lighting, and limited police presence, particularly at night. Many believe local policing is more reactive than preventative, calling for faster response times, more foot patrols, and even a permanent or pop-up police station. There’s also a strong push for better public safety infrastructure, including CCTV and improved lighting aligned with Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles.
Superintendent Andrew Garner addressed these concerns, he said that reported crime rates have been going down and from the data there has been no spike in crime in the Green Square and Zetland area.
Youth Engagement & Programs
Engagement in Schools: NSW Police run youth engagement programs in local schools, with an emphasis on preventing youth crime. Programs include outreach and mentorship, though further investment in such initiatives is requested. Community members have suggested integrating mental health and employment support alongside youth crime prevention strategies.
Awareness and Access
NSW Police had a dedicated table at the forum with translated material for the Chinese community. Many were very happy that police had these materials, however people do not know that they exist. Police said for those who would like to access the materials the best way would be to call the police station or go in person.It was suggested that this approach was not sufficient for wide-spread community awareness and that institutions need to ‘meet the community where they are’.
Targeted Attacks Against Minority Communities
Concerns Over Racial Targeting: Many residents, especially within the Chinese Australian community, believe that some incidents are racially motivated, particularly attacks on international students, migrant couples, and Asian-owned businesses like Modo Life. Though police have stated that incidents don’t appear to be racially motivated, many in the community feel targeted due to historical xenophobia and recent divisive comments made by some public figures.
Comments made by Harry Triguboff in December 2024, speaking on the podcast with Mark Bouris - Mr Triguboff said “Chinese are wonderful migrants but if we bring many of them they will take over” Watch Here (1:05:36)
Liberal Party Senator Jane Hume in May 2025 stated on a live broadcast with Channel 7 that “Chinese Spies” were handing out “How-to-vote” flyers for the Australian Labor Party. Read Here
There were calls for culturally appropriate safety messaging are essential to rebuilding trust in authorities.
Offender Management & Prevention
Handling Offenders: Questions about mixed messages from authorities on whether the individuals responsible for these incidents are known to police and if they have been linked to other past incidents. And what actions are being taken to prevent further crimes remain a significant concern for the community. There’s a push for more proactive interventions to stop repeat offending.
Youth Rehabilitation & Support
Youth Diversion: Community residents are urging more focused efforts on diverting young offenders into education, employment, or rehabilitation programs to prevent future violence and theft.
Evidence-Based Approaches & Street Safety
Proven Strategies: Successful models for youth crime prevention from Regional NSW, including youth patrols and community meetings, have been suggested.
Community-Led Safety Initiatives
Collaboration with Local Organisations: There was support for more community-led initiatives to improve safety, with a focus on building partnerships between police and local organisations like Wayside, Weave and Fact Tree to prevent crime rather than just responding to it.
Understanding Underlying Issues
Root Causes of Crime: Data on youth demographics and life circumstances show that factors such as housing instability, school disengagement, and family breakdown are contributing to crime. More investment is needed to address these systemic issues, particularly in high-density areas with growing populations.
There was a strong consensus that purely jailing these offenders was not a feasible solution as this could lead to more repeat offending and does not address the issue head-on.
Inclusive Safety Responses
Cultural Sensitivity in Safety Efforts: Ensuring that safety efforts don’t marginalise vulnerable or multicultural communities is crucial. The focus should be on inclusive, culturally sensitive approaches, ensuring safety services are accessible to everyone.
Investing in Prevention & Support Services
Long-Term Solutions: Alongside policing, there needs to be a focus on investing in the root causes of crime such as housing, mental health, and addiction services. More accessible crisis support services should be available to families and individuals in need, preventing situations from escalating into violence.
Service Planning in High-Density Areas
Proactive Service Planning: As areas like Green Square and Zetland continue to grow, there is support for proactive planning for adequate services—housing, mental health, employment, and educational support must be co-located in high-density hubs to ensure these communities are adequately supported.
Conclusion
The forum highlighted both immediate safety concerns and deeper systemic issues, including racism, and youth disengagement, in fast-growing suburbs and impacts of social media. Addressing these challenges requires a collaborative, holistic approach, led by community voices and supported through well-resourced, equity-focused policy.
Next Steps
The City of Sydney has an important role to play in facilitating place-based responses, amplifying community leadership, and advocating for fair service delivery in all parts of the city.
As a first step resulting from this forum, Deputy Lord Mayor Zann Maxwell will introduce a motion at the City of Sydney’s June meeting, calling for the City of Sydney to investigate ways that they can have an institutional presence on online platforms popular with the Chinese community, such as WeChat and RedNote, to bridge the information gap and build awareness and trust.
The Deputy Lord Mayor will also initiate discussions with the NSW Police on taking a similar approach to ‘meeting the community where they are’ with their community safety materials and communications.