Curbing youth crime and increasing police visibility among new Commander’s priorities

More than one-fifth of the state’s crime occurs in Launceston. The freshly appointed Northern District Commander has pledged to reduce youth crime and increase police visibility. Here’s how.

Constable Gavin Storay with police dog Nikki and new Northern District Commander Marco Ghedini outside the Launceston Police Station. Picture: Stephanie Dalton

Increasing police visibility and slashing youth crime are top of the agenda for the new Northern District Commander.

With more than one-fifth of the state’s crime occurring in Launceston, freshly appointed Northern District Commander Marco Ghedini has pledged to reduce recidivism, improve the crime-solved rate, and enhance public awareness of police activities.

Commander Ghedini replaces Acting Commander Nathan Johnson, who stepped into the role after former Commander Kate Chambers transferred out of the position in August.

Tasmania Police Commander Marco Ghedini.

In his 22 years with Tasmania Police, Commander Ghedini worked extensively across the Southern and Western Districts before being promoted to the rank of Inspector in 2019.

Now, he leads a department of nearly 260 sworn officers and six inspectors.

“It feels pretty surreal, I must say. It’s a huge privilege to be here and to be entrusted to the senior role within Tasmania Police,” Commander Ghedini said on Tuesday.

“My career has spanned across operational, front line, project and policy, a little bit of criminal investigation as well, and rose through the ranks and ultimately appointed as Commander yesterday.”

With a total of 7593 public offences logged by police in Launceston between August 2023 and July 2024, compared to 4835 offences in Hobart during the same period, Commander Ghedini said he is committed to tackling crime in the region.

“The focus for me moving forward is to be in collaboration with key stakeholders, and that’s both internally and with members of the community, so we’re best placed to provide a really accurate overview of what challenges the Northern District faces,” he said.

New Northern District Commander Marco Ghedini outside the Launceston Police Station. Picture: Stephanie Dalton

“The Tasmania Police Community Survey returned a number of results for community preferences and community opinion, which, in particular, include high visibility policing, increased patrols across our communities, and also a particular focus on youth crime.

“So we have a number of focus areas.

“In the coming weeks, I’ll meet with the numerous inspectors, and we’ll make sure that we have a clear plan and pathway forward for the next 12 to 24 months.”

Commander Ghedini highlighted the need for better communication with the public.

“For me, it’s about building relationships with the community,” he said.

“Firstly, understanding what the community expects from us and making sure that we can build an honest working relationship, where people can report incidents to police, we can build a picture of where our focus needs to be, and we can work together collaboratively to achieve it.”

Originally published as Curbing youth crime and increasing police visibility among new Commander’s priorities