Roebourne police, Elders call for respect after two out of control gatherings

Roebourne police are calling on residents and visitors to show respect to the local elders after two massive out of control gatherings occurred in the town recently. The call is on the back of two out of control gatherings attended by hundreds of people which saw police spend more than an hour trying to disperse crowds while rocks and bottles were hurled at them. Roebourne officer-in-charge senior sergeant Mark Barratt said the first incident took place in the street outside the Elders Village on Crawford Way. He said many of the people involved were not from Roebourne. “It is really disappointing to see the absolute and complete lack of respect displayed towards the community of Roebourne and in particular to the elders living within the Elders Village which is the vicinity of where the fighting was occurring in the first out of control gathering,” he said. Sen Sgt Barratt said it took more than 60 minutes for police to disperse the crowd during the first incident late in April. “Many of the people involved in creating the disturbances were not from Roebourne and had travelled into town for other matters,” he said. The second incident had an estimated 200 people involved, with Sen Sgt Barratt saying most were only watching the commotion. “When ordered, there is still a lawful requirement for all people to disperse even if they are not acting or behaving in an anti-social way,” he said. He said the community of Roebourne has had enough of this disrespectful attitude where people think they can come to Roebourne and rules do not apply. “Some elders have approached me since this incident asking for help,” he said. “They were really scared during these incidents and I’m actually quite disgusted that the perpetrators of this violence held no regard to the elders’ safety and zero respect to their cultural standing in the community. “Roebourne is a proud community and Roebourne Police will not tolerate this kind of anti-social conduct and any person intent on continuing with this behaviour can expect the full consequences of the law.” When police declare an out of control gathering, all people in the area are required to disperse and those that refuse can be charged with a criminal offence where the maximum penalty is three years imprisonment and a $24,000 fine. “Police will continue to review vision from the incidents and those identified to be in breach of the order will be prosecuted,” Sen Sgt Barratt said.