THE WEATHER turned it on at Wonthaggi skate park last week as young skaters crushed it with tricks at the skate jam event.
Skaters participating in the jam showed off their best tricks in freeform skating in ten minute blocks over the course of the afternoon.
Vouchers were given for the best trick and prizes were raffled off.
“We had some big tricks being thrown down, even the little ones were getting involved and throwing down some tricks which is good,” said Elliot Bates, Action Sports Liaison from YMCA Action Sports.
Wonthaggi Police together with Crimestoppers and YMCA Action Sports partnered up in the community engagement event initiated by Leading Senior Constable Nick Carlson.
“We’d got some really bad feedback about the skatepark in Wonthaggi,” Senior Constable Carlson explained.
“In terms of criminal activity, anti-social behaviour, drugs assaults and stuff, and a lot of parents were complaining that the skate park was no longer safe for their kids to come to.”
A lot of the young skaters had stopped going to the park.
As a result, the police, along with holding these events, have increased patrols in the area and want parents to know they are keeping an eye on the park.
“We are in a really safe community and the criminal activity is based around drugs and theft, and the criminals themselves fight with each other. It would be unusual for a random person to be involved in crime around here,” explained Senior Constable Carlson.
Crimestoppers and YMCA have been granted funds to organise skating events for youth aged 12 to 24 with events promoting safety awareness and provide employment opportunities for young people.
“We’re talking to kids about Crimestoppers - you can report everything anonymously and we don’t tell anyone who you are,” explained Aiden Bloomfield, Community Engagement Officer for Crimestoppers.
They also imparted messages of how to stay safe while at the skate part and gave skaters numbers to call if they feel unsafe or think something is not quite right.
The plan is for the local police to put on more of these events in the future, so skaters can freely enjoy the activity, and feel safe while at the park.
“The skating community is here and we are going to look after them just like everyone else. We don’t want anti-social behaviour; we don’t want criminal activities here. We want this to be a nice positive place for people to come,” said Senior Constable Carlson.
