Officers answer community questions

A two-way conversation between the Yarloop community and their two police officers occurred last week in a Q and A style forum.

The forum was supposed to be the first of many, but they have now been called off becasue of the coronavirus pandemic.

Sgt Wayne Byram and his new team member Joe Dainty introduced themselves to the community in a forum at the Yarloop Community Resource Centre, just a day before the centre was shut down as part of measures to reduce the spread of coronavirus.

Twenty people showed up and were spaced out to respect the recommended social distancing guidelines.

Sgt Byram was open and honest with his community and told residents there was no need to panic buy.

“I have witnessed people in country towns taking the time to look after one another, but I am disgusted by the few who have not,” Sgt Byram said.

He also told the Yarloop crowd he had been involved in numerous drug warrants and hundreds of traffic offences this year.

He urged people to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 to report any suspicious activity.

“This information will get lodged and be delivered straight to our inbox here in Yarloop,” he said.

“It can help us in building a more accurate picture of criminal activity and we can then deploy resources more efficiently.”

Sgt Byram also pleaded with community members to not believe everything they read on community noticeboards on Facebook. “Use reputable sources like the Department of Health website for updates,” he said.

The Yarloop sergeant, who started late last year, was joined by officer Joe Dainty from the Wanneroo unit in the past week.

“A big welcome to Joe, the community can look forward to seeing him around,” Sgt Byram said.