00:02In the small town of Catherine, a spike in crime has locals on edge.
00:07I haven't seen it like this.
00:11My observation is that it is far worse.
00:13There's a lot more crime happening in households.
00:17Jacinta Mooney runs a local community arts centre.
00:20She's had two cars stolen within a year,
00:23most recently her work Troopy used to reach remote communities.
00:27Some of those kids have been hurt as a result of stealing that car.
00:33The car's wrecked.
00:34Police say a competition for notoriety on social media is a factor,
00:38along with overcrowding in some Catherine homes.
00:41We've had more stolen cars.
00:43We've had about 30-35% of all our stolen cars for the year in the last four weeks.
00:49It has increased quite significantly,
00:52but what I believe is a spike, not a trend.
00:55I think if you ask people in Catherine they will tell you they don't feel as safe now
01:01as what they felt ten years ago, five years ago or twelve months ago.
01:06The Mayor and her deputy wrote to Chief Minister Leah Finocchiaro in March,
01:10asking her to come to Catherine and hold an urgent round table on crime
01:15to come up with an action plan for the town.
01:17Eight weeks later, they're yet to receive a reply.
01:21I would have expected some response back from the Chief Minister,
01:26but I understand that she has been busy with other more pressing issues.
01:30The Mayor is striking a diplomatic tone, but at a recent council meeting,
01:34the frustration from other councillors was palpable,
01:38with the deputy mayor suggesting council should write a second letter
01:42if the silence continues.
01:44The Chief Minister's office did not respond to questions from the ABC.
01:49The Chief Minister says,
01:49how will the Mitch do not respond to this ship.
01:49We will always have a message here,
01:50The Chief Minister of the Faculty of regular relations
01:50is significant,
01:50but if you have a newbie resident,
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