MAYOR Michael Laws has reached the end of the line with the Wanganui Police. Mr Laws said yesterday that when it came to dealing with anti-social behaviour affecting Wanganui residents like tagging, graffiti, vandalism and boy racers disturbing the peace the police were useless. On Tuesday at a meeting with Inspector DuncanMcLeod, Mr Laws said he will lay his cards on the table and tell Mr McLeod that enough is enough. "The police simply don't take anti-social behaviour seriously enough here. "Wanganui residents and ratepayers are just fed up with all the vandalism of their town. I know, because I hear from them all the time." Mr Laws said it wasn't up to the council to install surveillance cameras on St John's Hill. "It's up to the police to do their job and patrol the area. They tell us they have the resources." He described boy racers as "weedy, white-boy losers in cheap Japanese cars". "If they want to compare cars and do whatever they do in their weird sub-culture, then they should clear out of residential areas." This year vandalism of the river city had cost the council around $150,000, he said. "It's got beyond a joke. If I hadn't put the money up for information leading to the taggers, nothing would have happened. The police do nothing." Mr Laws said he needed to make it clear that the police were there when it was violence, rape, burglary and murder, but when it was simply anti-social behaviour you didn't see them. Residents who were distressed and disturbed by what was happening in their area should phone 349-0525, day or night, and leave a message with details of their name, address and complaint, Mr Laws said. "I promise I'll get back to them. "At the moment I feel as though I'm chasing smoke. I need times, dates, place. "I need the facts."
