Marijuana capital Nimbin facing 'overdue' cop crackdown
By Samantha Williams
July 07, 2007 01:00am
Flagrant ... it looks like the end of an era for the alternative types in Nimbin, as local police prepare to more than double their numbers / Paul Riley
IT'S the town that has continued to break the law with its laissez-faire attitude to drugs.
But after years of open drug dealing on the streets as well as a rising tide of violence, police have had enough.
Local Area Commander Bruce Lyons, the man in charge of policing the far North Coast town, is now taking a zero tolerance policy to drugs.
He is fed up with the decades-old drug culture, which has brought with it a series of social problems including high rates of mental health and homelessness.
After petitioning the Government for more resources, Superintendent Lyons will be boosting the police station's staff from four to nine officers in the coming months in a push to drive the drugs out of town.
The crackdown has earned the ire of some residents - who claim the bigger force is overkill for a town with a population of 500.
But Supt Lyons was adamant a New York-style "broken windows" approach is the only way to smash a culture he said is destroying social order in Nimbin.
"I'm passionate about fixing the problem because, unless we deal with all the social problems, the town will continue to see the consequences of drug addiction," Supt Lyons, who has been in charge of the far North Coast for three years, said.
"I have been getting a lot of criticism about this approach but there is a silent majority in Nimbin talking to me saying they want change and change is what needs to happen."
For years gangs have intimidated and assaulted those police who have been shutting down the drug dealing.
Five security cameras were installed along Nimbin's main street in 2005 at a cost of about $40,000.
But that only pushed drug pushers into the back alleys where they use friends as police lookouts while they continue to peddle drugs.
Undercover police have conducted many operations in Nimbin over the years but Supt Lyons wants to let drug dealers know police will now be on the streets.
During the Mardi Grass festival in May 109 people were arrested for drugs and bad behaviour.
Of those, 57 were cautioned while the rest faced court and criminal charges.
"In the past, undercover drug units have turned (Nimbin's drug culture) upside down and left, then its reverted back to normal," he said.
"I want local police to deal with the problem and become part of the community because if they do that they will get the respect.
"It's not about police continuing to use the law to fix the problems of Nimbin, its going to take a lot more than that (to end the drug culture)."
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