Safety in the CBD has been a concern for business owners and shoppers for quite some time. The matter was brought to the March council meeting through an urgency motion by Councillor Gianpiero Battista because crime and antisocial behaviour were causing safety issues and disrupting business, as well as keeping shoppers away from the CBD block.

The motion, which was passed unanimously, asked council to:

1. Write to the NSW Police Commissioner and Richmond Police District, highlighting safety concerns from CBD businesses and requesting a blitz
2. Send a copy of the correspondence to Member for Lismore, Janelle Saffin, and Federal Member for Page, Kevin Hogan
3. Include in the next budget an agreed amount of funding exclusively designed to increase safety in the CBD.

Since then, Business Lismore has had a formal meeting with the acting Superintendent of the Richmond Police District and a Detective Senior Constable to discuss the issue.

Business Lismore President Michael Ackrell told the Lismore App that the meeting was scheduled for 30 minutes and ran 90 minutes.

In the meeting, it was reported that the CBD (from City Hall to the police station on Zadoc Street) reports an average of 100 incidents a month. In February 2025, this number increased to 180.

The majority of phone calls received were centred around tobacconists and the Transit Centre, with mental health an added area of concern for police on top of crime, such as stealing and break and enters.

The Richmond Police District used to have a mental health worker based at the police station, funded by NSW Health as part of a program called PACER. If necessary, the clinician would attend with police to assess the person’s mental health needs and organise appropriate care. This could lead to better outcomes and fewer people ending up in already crowded emergency departments.

The PACER program is no longer available at the Lismore Police Station.

For business owners in the CBD or community members shopping in the CBD, the key message was to report every incident. There was a belief that police would not do anything anyway, so why report an incident? However, if they are not reported, police do not have a true indication of the situation, which could lead to an increase in staffing to help find better solutions and a reduction in incidents.

New Superintendent (Supt), Dave Roptell, said police have met with Council and Council representatives.

"We're in the process of putting together a joint operation which will go over a couple of days, focusing on safety, focusing on offences committed, like shoplifting and antisocial behaviour. Council will also focus on compliance.

"I will say this categorically, I commenced five weeks ago, but our crime categories are under control. So, there's some good things that are happening within the community as a whole, not just Lismore, but the whole Richmond Police District, which spans Ballina to Lismore and west to Casino and so forth.

"However, what we are doing to keep a lid on that, and to ensure community confidence and also perceptions of fear of crime, we are still going to run this operation and put a number of resources into it to ensure that the community see us and they feel safe." 

Supt Roptell said the operational results will determine any future actions.

"Whatever information we get will then determine how often it is required that we do full patrols or we address certain issues, but let me say this, they will happen regularly." 

A spokesperson from Lismore City Council said, "Council is continuing to work with Police to ensure everyone in our community feels safe in the CBD and, in particular, around the Transit Centre

While the joint operation is being planned, you are encouraged to report any criminal or safety issues to police by calling (02) 6626 0599.