{"id":633828,"date":"2026-04-27T10:06:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T10:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/633828\/"},"modified":"2026-04-27T10:06:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T10:06:10","slug":"aussie-beachside-town-living-in-fear-since-crime-wave-began-18-days-ago-traumatic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/633828\/","title":{"rendered":"Aussie beachside town living in fear since crime wave began 18 days ago: ‘Traumatic’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Residents in a small coastal town<\/a> on the NSW North Coast are sleeping with weapons next to their beds amid a crime wave<\/a> that has terrorised the community for more than two weeks.<\/p>\n

The town of Wooli<\/a> used to be the sort of place where you could leave your doors unlocked, locals told Yahoo News. Now, people are handing out baseball bats to their neighbours to protect themselves against gangs of youths taking over the streets after dark.<\/p>\n

Homes, businesses and cars have been broken into on a crime spree<\/a> that started 18 days ago during the Easter school holidays.<\/p>\n

“I’ve been here for 45 years and this is the worst I’ve seen it,” Brenda, who runs the Wooli Holiday Park<\/a> told Yahoo News.<\/p>\n

She said at least four caravan<\/a> sites have been robbed, with thieves stealing guests’ bikes and other property.<\/p>\n

“We never used to have to lock our doors here. So it’s a complete turnaround.”<\/p>\n

Wooli has a police station, but locals say it is frequently unmanned as the town’s officer usually works out of Grafton.<\/p>\n

“We don’t have a permanent policeman stationed at Wooli,” Brenda said.<\/p>\n

“And our problem is, we’re three-quarters of an hour away from Grafton. Our command centre is in Coffs Harbour<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“So while we’ve got a police station here and police residence, there are no patrols out this way at all.<\/p>\n

“We’re just a sleepy little town. It goes under the radar.”<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Wooli Police Station is frequently unmanned, with locals calling for a larger police presence in town. Source: Supplied<\/p>\n

Family too afraid to return home after break-in<\/p>\n

Penny and Shikhar Gumber own The Wooli Store and service station<\/a>, and woke up one night to some “banging” that was coming from inside.<\/p>\n

Shikhar opened the cameras on his phone and found his shop overrun with at least eight youths.<\/p>\n

“They were running around, grabbing things, they had already smashed the glass door, they were jumping on the tills, snatching things and running back to the car,” Penny said.<\/p>\n

“They even tried to get into the house. They had knives in their hands, they had iron rods in their hands.”<\/p>\n

Penny said she was trembling as she called the police, but they took 50 minutes to arrive and by then the gang was “long gone”.<\/p>\n

“This was my biggest nightmare, and that night it came true. We knew there was no one who could come straight away and protect us.”<\/p>\n

She estimates the thieves stole $2,000 in cash along with food items and cigarettes.<\/p>\n

“It was more than financial loss,” she said. “It was more scary, and traumatic for all of us.”<\/p>\n

Now, the couple and their three-year-old child are too afraid to return to their home and are living in temporary accommodation until they feel safe again.<\/p>\n

\"Left:<\/p>\n

It’s estimated around $2,000 in cash was stolen from The Wooli store along with cigarettes and other food items. Source: Supplied\/The Wooli Store<\/p>\n

More Wooli businesses targeted by thieves<\/p>\n

Just days after the break-in at the service station, thieves smashed the window of the Wooli Hotel Motel with a rock and stole around $600 worth of alcohol.<\/p>\n

“I haven’t been broken into for 15 years,” owner Ian Rees said. “It’s very uncommon.”<\/p>\n

He said while he still feels safe on the premises, the same can’t be said for others in town, noting that Wooli has an older population.<\/p>\n

The median age of Wooli residents is 61 years, according to the 2021 census<\/a> which listed the town’s population at 503. The median age of Wooli is much higher than the NSW median of 39 and the Australian median of 38.<\/p>\n

Call for immediate police presence<\/p>\n

With break-ins still occurring, locals believe it’s clear even to the offenders that there is no police presence in Wooli.<\/p>\n

“We really need someone to be around us so that we can feel safe. So we can go to bed without having a fear in our mind that someone would come in and invade our privacy,” Penny said.<\/p>\n

Wooli Post Office and SES lead Bruce Bird said the town is in need of more authority, but doubted if an officer would be stationed daily in Wooli.<\/p>\n

“It’s quite disturbing and distressing for us to know what’s going on in our town,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Our police officer is regularly \u2014 and I do mean that on a daily basis \u2014 seconded into the Grafton Station.<\/p>\n

“Would we like a greater police presence? Yes. Is it likely to happen? We aren’t the greatest area of need.<\/p>\n

“We’re only about 750 people. Grafton and its precinct is probably 26,000. Grafton has more of a crime wave than we have.”<\/p>\n

NSW Police respond to crime wave reports<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for NSW Police told Yahoo that the local Wooli officer was available for callouts in the town 24 hours a day, with regular patrols of the area also conducted by officers from the Coffs\/Clarence Police District.<\/p>\n

Their full statement reads:<\/p>\n

Police Stations in the Coffs\/Clarence Police District \u2013 like other stations across Regional NSW \u2013 have a range of operating hours including 24\/7 stations and smaller sector stations operating around service demand and community need.<\/p>\n

Wooli Police Station is a single officer station, with the local sector officer available for callouts in Wooli 24-hours a day.<\/p>\n

Officers from across the Coffs\/Clarence Police District conduct regular taskings and patrols of the Wooli area and take every opportunity to ensure the safety of the local community.<\/p>\n

The community can be assured that all police vehicles serve as mobile police stations and can respond based on demand.<\/p>\n

The district is also supported by other regional and specialist resources when community and operational needs arise.<\/p>\n

The safety and wellbeing of the community remains our priority, and in an emergency, the community should always call Triple Zero (000).<\/p>\n

If you are a victim of crime, other than in life-threatening or time-critical emergency situations, you can contact the NSW Police Assistance line on 131 444 or report online through the NSWPF Community Portal https:\/\/portal.police.nsw.gov.au<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Or if you wish to report information on criminals or criminal activity, you can call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online https:\/\/nsw.crimestoppers.com.au<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You can also follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, Twitter<\/a> and YouTube<\/a>.<\/p>\n