Leo’s Food Bar, near the Transit Centre, was the subject of theft, damage to property and injury to the proprietor in an effort to protect her livelihood last weekend. There is a heightened awareness of the issues in the area, but the owner, Cherise Baxter, has had enough.

Two youths came into the shop last Sunday saying, “All’s we got is $3, what can we get?” Cherise told them they could get a scallop each and put them on to cook. She “hears the fridge door open and one of the kids making a beeline for the door. I knew he had taken a drink; I could see the bulge in his shirt.”

Cherise then went out the back to look at the security footage and saw the second youth taking a drink. Cherise locked the front door quickly and told him to call his parents. The first thing he said to Cherise was, “There’s nothing you can do to me; I’m a CASPA kid.” They had a confrontation before the other youth came back and started a commotion from the outside.

“He was bashing on the door, trying to force open the door and then wanted to fight me, threatened to bash me in the head, grabbed my outdoor dining chairs and tried to smash in the glass door, and then he kicked it as well.”

“The other young fellow kept threatening, “I’m going to ring my Uncle Scott”, and I told him to.” The youth rang him and another girl. While on the second call, his carers heard what was happening and began to make their way to the eatery. 

Cherise opened the front door, the youth inside ran out, and the two youths ran up the road and jumped in their uncle's car. He took the kids away from the scene and returned. At that stage, the carers were also there.

Cherise had called the police, as she felt considerably intimidated by three men at her shop trying to tell her “there was nothing that they could do with the kids.” 

The carers from CASPA told Cherise they would pay to get the window and door fixed.

A number of messages were received by Cherise saying the youths are known in the area for allegedly committing a range of crimes, including breaking into cars, theft and assault. Cherise said, “People knew exactly who they were, and I didn’t even know their names.”

“I cop abuse on a weekly basis. That was the third verbal assault I copped that week.”

“My grandparents, parents and I have lived here, and we have never seen it like it is now.”

Cherise’s shop is completely monitored by cameras, with plenty of signage to let people know that they are on film, but it has not stopped trouble in the shop. She feels like she needs weapons and further protection as she believes it is only a matter of time before the situation escalates. She fears for her young workers and checks with them to make sure they can handle things.

In the process of trying to stop these youths, Cherise sustained injury to her arm and back. Her arm is swollen and bruised, “From the force of holding the door closed - as it went from me keeping one kid in, to trying to keep the other kid trapped out, because he was just going psycho.” Cherise believes she has torn muscles in her back, as it “hurts to breathe, hurts to bend.”

Cherise is tired of constantly battling people who bring aggressive situations to her shop and trying to run a business with financial stress. Her health is suffering from it. She has requested help from the police for this occasion and others. At times, they are able to provide assistance, but Cherise thinks there is a need for a more permanent police presence around the transit centre. 

Discussing the situation, Superintendent of the Richmond Police District Scott Tanner reported, “The two YP’s have been identified. They will be spoken to by police and they will be dealt with under the Young Offenders Act.”

“We've got a really strong relationship with the out-of-home care providers. We meet with them every month and we actively case manage their high risk kids. So, in actual fact, we have managed to reduce the issue. Two year ago, kids in out-of-home care, were committing about 70 to 80% of our property crime as opposed to now which is 10 to 12%.”

Speaking of the number of concerning incidents in the area around the transit centre, Superintendent Tanner confirmed Lismore police are targeting that area and have been coordinating works with Council to make the area safer, “That area is one of our priority areas to monitor.”

“We are working with our partner agencies, such as health and the council, looking at ways to minimise the disruption around those areas. So for instance, yesterday, we held a mental health meeting with our partners and we highlighted that the transit centre is an area of concern for us.”

They are also working with the NSW Reconstruction Authority to assist with the amount of displaced people. The police are “Encouraging them to reach out to these people to see whether they can offer any sort of longer-term solution for housing.”

CASPA was contacted, but a response has not been received. Council was contacted and said, “There are no works planned.”