"We want to be looking in the windscreen, not in the rear view mirror, which is much smaller."

This sentiment from meeting facilitator Peter O'Connor encapsulates the inaugural 'Safer Coonamble' meeting on Wednesday 6 December.

The discussion was filled with both thorny topics and constructive solutions for ongoing problems, plus a pledge from fifty five community members to make the Coonamble community a safer place to be.

Called in response to the persistent level of crime across the district, the meeting aimed to direct community energy towards constructive solutions and away from the risky option of 'taking the law into your own hands' that has been seen on a couple of recent occasions in the town.

'Safer Coonamble' instigator and concerned local Dennis Glover was happy with how the meeting progressed.

"Overall, everyone was in a positive mood which was good," said Mr Glover. "We were happy to get the amount of people there, more would have been good but we can start small and build from there."

"It was good to hear a range of issues, some we already knew of."

Under the simple prompt of "What do we want" concerned locals brought to the table a mix of potential solutions and past experiences that could provide a path forward for a 'Safer Coonamble'.

Concerns about youth crime included a perceived lack of after-school activities and post-court follow-up.

Coonamble Shire Mayor Tim Horan says that altering the Young Offenders Act to bring responsibility back into the hands of the parents would be a good solution.

PHOTO: Inspector Jason Conolly fielded some tough questions on the night.

"If the cost of a broken window or a broken door gets taken out of the parents' pension you can bet they’ll care about whether their kids are out and about," said Cr Horan said.

"Bring the responsibility back on to the parents."

On a more local level Karen Churchill re-introduced an earlier idea to hire a security patrol for observation and reporting during police downtime, however, with costings already estimated at around $180,000 per year Coonamble Shire Council had previously deemed that such a patrol would be too expensive.

A few members called for long term preventative solutions as opposed to reactionary ones, citing issues like bored youth, foetal alcohol spectrum disorder as issues that need to be addressed.

Jeremy Richardson suggested a dirt bike track open to the public as one option for keeping young people active and out of trouble.

The meeting also supported an investigation of 'circle sentencing' or similar programs that involve young offenders answering to the community for their crimes.

PHOTO: One of the key drivers of the Safer Coonamble meeting, Dennis Glover.

In terms of adult offenders, there was strong support for a united approach to visiting magistrates by a community-based delegation to advocate for harsher penalties, or at least making attendance compulsory at counselling or other relevant programs available in the community.

The reintroduction of a 'CDEP-style' employment program was also recommended.

Coonamble Chamber of Commerce President Lucy Moss says she was pleased to see the community come together on the crime problem.

"It was good to see how positive people were about the issue, especially considering the negative experiences some people have had," said Ms Moss.

"That's the best way to deal with the issue, with positivity and constructive solutions."

Local policing issues were shared, such as extended response times and that the door to the police station was too often closed even during normal business hours.

Local resident Sam Rindfleish spoke at the Safer Coonamble Meeting of her family's experience.

It was not all positive, with references to 'pick and choose policing' and even an allegation of possible corruption within local police for suspected 'tip offs' to drug dealers, being aired on the night.

Inspector Jason Conolly and local Sergeants, Jeff Morgan, Ben Tatton and Fiona Ozols attended the meeting. 

They provided an insight into the local police assisting other local stations that are thinly stretched. There are also other duties which involve transport of prisoners to and from Dubbo and assisting with Mental Health patients. 

Inspector Conolly assured the community that Police continue to adapt and will continue to be out and about in our local community investigating crimes, working with the community to drive down the fear of crime and strive for a safer community. 

Local police also firmly encouraged people to report all crime as it has a direct correlation with the resources that Coonamble Shire receives from NSW Police, and therefore will impact how well equipped the station is to address crime.

"On a stats sheet we could have for example one or two break and enters that have been reported, when we have been hearing of another four or five that have happened," said Gulargambone Ser-geant Jeff Morgan.

The Police Assistance Line on 131444 was recommended for any matter that was not urgent or when the local station is not open.

It was agreed that a group be convened to work on tabled ideas on behalf of the local community and in partnership with Coonamble Shire Council, Police and other agencies.