HEARING of children being frightened by masked youths banging on walls and peering through windows at a Rye children’s holiday camp struck a chord with Southern Metro Region police inspector Karen Nyholm.
“I’ve got kids myself,” she said. “I heard the kids were frightened and I understand and appreciate the concerns of the carers.
“I know I’d hate to see my kids frightened.”
Worried carers at the Camp Australia program at Rye Primary School mid-month reportedly placed crying children under tables to comfort them during the incident before calling 000.
Some mothers are said to have criticised police for taking 45 minutes to attend the camp, but other police jobs are said to have had priority, including attending to a suicidal man and processing an offender.
“It certainly is a police matter and I have no problem with the carers calling us,” said Inspector Nyholm, who arranged for officers to attend the camp next day to explain the hold up.
“We still don’t have an actual crime even though there was a suggestion of danger,” she said.
“There was no actual break-in but, of course, the carers didn’t know that and they did the right thing.”
First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 19 July 2016
