Transcript of media conference with Glenorchy Mayor Sue Hickey and Inspector Jason Klug, Glenorchy city centre lawns, 9 July 2025.
Topics covered: safety, Task Force Respect, community policing, youth, knife crime, small business, Tasmania Police, Glenorchy Council, northern suburbs.
Sue Hickey
Due to some recent negative events, there’s been a perception of an increase in crime in Glenorchy, which is far from the truth. In actual fact, we’ve had a 16% reduction in an overall crime in the last year, and we’ve had 21% reduction in youth offending. So that is amazing, and we really do want to thank the police. We have a wonderful partnership here at Glenorchy City Council with Task Force Respect, and they’re doing an amazing job. The visible policing is making a real difference in making community feel safe and deterring offenders.
Journalist – unidentified
You mentioned this negative, I guess, stereotype that’s prevailed … what kind of effect does that have on the community here?
Sue Hickey
Nobody wants their city to sound like it’s an awful place to be or make them feel unsafe, but it’s really far from the truth. It’s a perception, and yes, like all cities, we do have crime incidences, so we’re not going to ignore it. We haven’t got our heads in the sand, but we as a council are determined to keep this a safe city. So we have lots of partnerships: with Crime Stoppers, with Neighbourhood Watch, with our friends the police, and with lots of community organisations. We have dedicated staff to work with young people make sure that they’re safe and that they stay on the right path. It’s a passion of this council to have a very safe city.
Journalist – unidentified
With this reduction, over what timeline is that?
Sue Hickey
Over 12 months, there was a 21% reduction. So that’s the 2024 to 2025 period, 21% reduction in youth offending, and we believe that’s been a result of the intense work that we’re doing as a council with the youth, but just as importantly, with our wonderful partnership with police.
Journalist – unidentified
Talk us through that work, then … what does the reduction, what can you pin that on?
Sue Hickey
I think that we have a lot of focus on engaging youth who might be at risk. We certainly have outreach programs to schools. We have activities here on the lawn. We have dedicated staff who are trained in dealing with young people and trying to find out what their issues are and help them stay on track.
But the police, with their visible colour, the bright colour I’ve started here, the police,
Visible policing has been an incredible thing to see. You actually see the police engaging with young people all around the city. They’re very, very visible, and they’re not threatening in any way. It’s a really comforting thing, and I think it’s giving the community a lot of resilience, and we feel safe and we feel connected, and the police are just amazing, the work they do with people in our city.
Journalist – unidentified
Do you think that (task force) is something that the council would like to see as an ongoing thing? And how do you feel the contribution has helped thus far?
Sue Hickey
Okay, the contribution has been outstanding. It’s an excellent investment of government money to head off crime, I think, a big crime prevention tool. But it’s also giving police an opportunity to engage with the community, and you can see the respect for the force. It’s absolutely outstanding. I would highly recommend that this program be retained. We did have several task forces for throughout the year, but this one now is a permanent task force, and I’m totally indebted to inspector Klug and his team for the fantastic work they’re doing.
Journalist – unidentified
Just to clarify, these council programs you were talking about before, they’ve been brought in in the last 12 months?
Sue Hickey
No, the council programs have been ongoing, but what we’ve done is lift them a lot in the last 12 months. So you’ll come past this council chambers at about three o’clock in the afternoon, and you’ll see, you know, up to 50 or 60 odd kids engaged in various activities here on the forecourt. But we also have other events where they might do skate boarding or scooter riding. There’s other programs where we give them a chance to get their motorbike license so they can get to work. And lots of other engagement with activities at the Moonah Arts Centre and trying to get things that kids are interested in, but we are investing heavily in looking after the youth of Glenorchy.
Journalist – unidentified
So that’s something that’s still increasing over time into the future? Are you’re looking at other ways to engage youth?
Sue Hickey
Well, we’re passionate about having a safe city. We’re trying to stop this nonsense that we’re not safe. It’s a beautiful city full of lovely, aspiring people, but more importantly, we have 9000 kids between the age of 10 and 19, and they are great kids, and we want to make sure that they’re not stained because of the mischief of just a couple of rat bags.
Journalist – unidentified
What about businesses? So I think there was reported a reduction in anti social behaviour by businesses. How is it? How important is it to make sure that they feel safe?
Sue Hickey
It’s vital that they feel safe. I don’t like disrespect to any shopkeeper of any level, whether it’s a supermarket or a small business. So we have invested heavily in cameras, which go on a direct feed to the police as well, but we are also seeing the visible patrolling is very well received by the small business community.
Journalist – unidentified
I spoke to Felix Ellis, I think it was over the weekend, who announced a range of different policing policies looking at targeting young offenders. I think there was some stricter bail laws, but also banning things like knives and certain weapons for people under the age of 18. Do you think there’s enough being done at a state level?
Sue Hickey
I think it’s really good that there’s going to be a review of the Youth Justice Act, I think that’s timely. And I also think that it shouldn’t be possible that young people get their hands on knives and scissors and things like that so easily. So it’s good to see supermarkets clamping down on that. And I think if we had a law that said you can’t sell a knife to someone under the age of 16 or 18, that also would be a positive move. As for the bail conditions, I do know the police struggle with some of the ways of kids getting around that, so I guess a good overhaul and review is always a good idea,
Journalist – unidentified
And we’ll talk to police. But I’m assuming the job’s not done yet?
Sue Hickey
You know, every time you think you’ve solved a crime, there’s a new way invented. So I think it’s really important that we remain vigilant. We look at what other cities are doing, and we work really closely with the people who know the best versions of everything, and that is our police force.
Journalist – unidentified
And what’s next steps for the council in terms of your youth programs? Do you think now with this lift, you’ve got the balance right? Or is there more work to be done?
Sue Hickey
Well, we have been working very, very hard to get a dedicated, focused youth hub where kids can come, be given activities or feel safe or share their problems. And that’s a real focus of ours, and we’re this close. So if we can get that off the ground with the help of the state government, we’ll be thrilled, because we do think youth in the city do need a space just dedicated to them.
Inspector Jason Klug.
Jason Klug
Today we’re here to provide an update in regards to Task Force Respect and also some statistics that have come out of the last financial year within the Glenorchy Policing Division.
Community safety is obviously at the forefront of policing, not just community safety itself, but also people feeling safe in the community. And that’s where Task Force respect, working with our partners at council, local business and the like, have really, I believe, made a real change here in the Glenorchy area. What we’ve seen over the last financial year is a 16% reduction in total crime offences across the Glenorchy Policing Division. Importantly, we’ve seen also seen a 21% reduction in Youth Offending across the Glenorchy Division.
There’s some really good figures to show that crime in our area is actually reducing. Importantly, in regards to our Task Force Respect – it’s been running now for about seven weeks – what we’ve seen in regards to calls for police assistance within the CBD is that our calls have reduced by about 40% since the reduction of Task Force Respect. So these are some really positive figures, but we’re not going to take our foot off the pedal. We’re going to continue the hard work that we’re doing. We’re going to continue working with our our partners across the Glenorchy area to ensure that our community is safe and feels safe and enjoys the wonderful public spaces that we have.
Tasmanian Times
Is there any element of kind of whack-a-mole with this,, that if you solve crime in Glenorchy, part of that kind of squeezes it to other areas, perhaps in Hobart?
Jason Klug
When we look at offending, we always look at what’s going to provide the best long term outcomes. So of course, early interdiction is key in regards to offending, but also what we do from there. Do we consider bail conditions? The court process in relation to youth, any youth diversion programs and the like. So we really look at what’s going to not only stop the offending from occurring today, but what’s also going to give us the best opportunity to be able to prevent that offending from occurring again down the track.
Journalist – unidentified
We know that Task Force Respect is a fairly new program, yet our stats are showing a decrease for a year. So what do you think prior to Task Force Respect was behind that decrease?
Jason Klug
We did run another operation just before Christmas time of a similar nature. Obviously, Task Force Respect will be an ongoing task force. But again, I think it’s, it’s an example of the community working together to say that this type of offending is something that won’t be tolerated, and by working together, we have some really positive results. So whilst police have played a part in that, it really is the collaboration with a whole lot of other agencies, including the council here, that do a wonderful job.
Journalist – unidentified
What are the main offences that the task force is focusing on?
Jason Klug
So the task force are focusing on anti social behaviour as well as retail crime. So any offences that might disturb somebody from enjoying our public spaces is something the task force is fairly quick to react with, as well as shoplifting.
The task force in the last couple of weeks has also stepped out a little bit further and looking at that next layer of retail crime. So not just those people that are involved in the stealing of items, but where those items are going to. I’d urge the public to consider, if they’ve seen large amounts of retail items for sale on our social media platforms, where those items are coming from. Our task force is now extended to look at those items, and they’re conducting searches of relevant premises to recover those stolen items and keep those people that are in possession of stolen items to account for that.
Journalist – unidentified
You mentioned a figure about a decrease in the number of calls in the last couple of months. Is there a figure for a decrease in crime in the last two months that you could compare to the last 12 months that you quoted?
Jason Klug
Apart from what we are seeing is a reduction across all crime figures within the Glenorchy Division, which is positive. Obviously, we’ve just moved over to a new financial year. So whilst our statistics settle in that in that regard, we’re relying a little bit more on what we’re seeing and our calls from the members of the public. But what we’re seeing is overwhelmingly positive. We’re also receiving that feedback from our local businesses, our local security within the Glenorchy, Moonah and Claremont CBD areas, and these are the people that are on the ground. They are seeing what’s happening every single day, and they’re reporting a noticeable reduction in those anti social behaviours
Journalist – unidentified
And just confirming there’s reduction in youth crime.
Jason Klug
We’ve seen a 21% reduction in youth crime in the last financial year. 21% is significant in a place as big as the Glenorchy Policing Division.
Journalist – unidentified
I asked the mayor the same question, but because there’s no end date to the task force, you’ve still got a bit of work to do. What does that look like?
Jason Klug
We don’t have an end date for the task force. The task force we see, I see, will evolve to what we’re seeing in the community and what the important needs are of our community members. So whilst they’ll always be an element of of that high visibility policing in our CBD areas, I think that’s really important. A really back to basic style of policing where officers can be seen and interact with those people that might be doing the wrong thing, but also reassuring those people that are out enjoying our public spaces. But the task force will have the ability to adapt to anything that we’re seeing in areas within our policing division, and it’s important to not remain focused or fixed on one particular topic, because we know that that crime does evolve and things do change in that space.
Journalist – unidentified
Has there been any push-back on increased visibility, like some people might draw an analogy to a police state … is it a police suburb now?
Jason Klug
No, look, our police are out there, as I said, they’re not just dealing with those people that might be doing the wrong thing, they’re out there reassuring the people that are doing the right thing. We certainly whilst, whilst we take a firm approach in regards to those people that that are stopping the good people in society from enjoying our public spaces., they are very much approachable. They are very much there to assist people in in our community that like to come up and talk and may have questions that they wouldn’t ordinarily feel the need to come to a police station or approach a police officer.
Tasmanian Times
So you spoke earlier about the collaboration. Was that built from the ground up, or did you take a model that you saw had been working in other parts of Tasmania, Australia, and adapt it? How did that come to be?
Jason Klug
Certainly, it would be fair to say that all policing agencies would work closely with local business council and the like. And I guess it’s about putting ourselves out there, being seen, being engaged in local community groups and local initiatives from the council, and really remaining focused and committed to not just working in the area that we do, but also really wanting to make a positive change.
Journalist – unidentified
How many officers, and covering what areas, do you have on the task force?
Jason Klug
Yep, so so we’ve got officers at the moment: we have a we have a sergeant, and we have four full time police constables attached to the task force. We have support of our Task Force Saturate that also works out of Glenorchy station, as well as our shift members that are working 24 hours a day, seven days a week across our Glenorchy Division.
Journalist – unidentified
I think both the major parties have come out with similar policies around banning knives and certain weapons for people under the age of 18. Is that something that the police would support?
Jason Klug
Anyone that’s carrying a dangerous article, whether that be a knife or another implement, and the carrying of that is unlawful, then certainly it’s an offence, and it is of concern for police. We will work hard, we’ll continue to use our powers that exist within the legislation and alternative measures, such as our CCTV footage, our metal detecting wands and the like, to hold those people to account.
Journalist – unidentified
When the task force launched, there was mentioned drones maybe being used? Have they been used, and in what capacity?
Jason Klug
Drones are certainly something that’s considered with any operation or any part of policing duties, and they are a particularly important asset, particularly to provide a an overall aerial view of what might be occurring. So if we have something occurring within the CBD area, or if we have specific targeted activities that might occur, whether that may be a search, or some targeted activities in a public place, then certainly the drone is there to to support our officers, not just to provide a an overall watch, but also to ensure the safety of our officers. lesson.
Journalist – unidentified
Are you getting a sense for some of these young offenders, that they’re actually receptive to police? I know that sometimes it can be seen as a bit of a badge of honour when they’ve having to deal with police.
Jason Klug
So part of our policing, as I said, is to interdict with all people in the community as well. So we found that our officers have been been fantastic in building those relationships with youth and what we have seen is some youth that may have been engaging in behaviours that were that were bordering on illegal type behaviours, anti social behaviours, have really been able to turn themselves around. And through those relationships that they’ve built with police, we’ve now seen some really positive results where those youth are now coming up and engaging with our officers. Our officers are down and assisting with the wonderful work that council are doing here on the council lawns, with basketball and the like, and these are positive aspects and getting to know our local police, for the for the normal people in society that we are.
Journalist – unidentified
There’s been lots of mention of the officers on the ground being approachable. Have they had any additional training in terms of interacting with disengaged members of the community in particular.
Jason Klug
Look whilst they’ve received no additional training, all police, of course, are fairly adverse with dealing with all types of situations, not just extreme or dangerous situations, but it really is just allowing our officers to have the resources and have the time that they need to really provide that old school back to basics policing, as may have occurred years ago when the local police officers were in the suburbs, where you get to know your local community and engage with them,
Speaker 1
There’s an implication that, you know, crime has been decreasing over the last year, but, you know, might be our fault as journos for being a bit of a media circus around a few specific events, people panicking, is that the reason behind this task force? And I mean, could it, could it get to the point where people are just feeling chill again?
Jason Klug
As I mentioned, we’re not going to take our foot off the pedal with this. I think community engagement is a really important part of policing, and being visible and being seen is really important. So we will continue that, and of course, we will continue to to report matters of relevance through the media, whether they be incidents of anti social behaviour or illegal type behaviour, but we will also report truthfully about about what’s occurring in regards to statistics and what our community members are feeling and reporting back to us.
Journalist – unidentified
What’s next for the task force in terms of their focus on stolen items?
Jason Klug
They’re continuing on with their investigations utilising social media platforms, CCTV as well as information received through Crime Stoppers, and they’re building up a picture as to what’s going on with those stolen items, and that’s guiding their focus in regards to searching, recovering those stolen items and also holding those offenders to account.
Tasmanian Times
There was some talk a while back about group of youth potentially organising a riot. Was there any substance to that? And are there, in fact, youth crime gangs in Glenorchy?
Jason Klug
The day that you’re referring to, I understand, we see no eventuation of what was going on or what was being reported across the social media platforms. So we’d see no rioting, no anti social type behaviours, but it’s a matter that we take seriously, and of course, we would not like to see that happening within our community, and our police action that was taken that day was there to ensure that our community members are safe and they have a feeling of safety. So that’s something that we don’t take lightly.
In regards to gangs, what we what we do see – and I think what’s probably commonly seen across our state – is that youth, just in their nature, do congregate with their friends. It’s important to remember that only a very small percentage of our young people are doing the wrong thing, the larger percentage of our young people are very law abiding, decent, honest young people, and it’s important for the community not to lose sight of that. Do we have a gang problem in Glenorchy? No, we don’t. Are we working hard to ensure that we’re reducing offending and keeping our community safe? Yes, we are.
Journalist – unidentified
That particular day when there were posts going around social media, and there seemed to be a lot of panic, people were like ‘don’t go to the shops’ and stuff. Was there investigation into the instigators of that rumour going around?
Jason Klug
Yeah, certainly there was a number of posts that were going up, left, right and centre And certainly we have tools and some things at our disposal to to value add to what was being seen on the front end of the social media, so to speak. And of course, our response on that day was to, was all around public safety.
Journalist – unidentified
Okay, so no particular people that were kind of followed up with, or like cautioned or anything?
Jason Klug
Because of the sheer volume of what was being spread around and shared around the social media. that of course made it complex in regards to that. But we can, we continue to keep an eye on things that are being displayed on social media, and of course, if they warrant further investigation.
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