Clifford Gardens Shopping Centre moves to impove safety after robberies

Clifford Gardens Shopping Centre management is grappling with a spate of violence and robbery at the popular complex. It has now responded to community concerns.

Clifford Gardens Shopping Centre management has rolled out additional training for its security guards in response to a spate of violent crime at the complex.

This includes updating its CCTV network to help police identify and arrest offenders.

The changes come after several high-profile robberies at the centre.

On June 8, Dan Hodder stopped a boy who pushed over a 65-year-old woman and stole her purse as she was leaving an ATM.

Mr Hodder was driving through the carpark when he saw the commotion.

“I saw the woman fighting off the young man before he flung her across the road,” he said.

Mr Hodder gave chase, but he stopped to pick up the purse after the boy threw it into nearby bushes.

The plumber and aspiring hip-hop artist was returning the purse to the woman when he saw another young man get a hold of the boy as he was attempting to flee in a getaway car.

Together they dragged the boy back to the woman and made him apologise.

“I gave him a pretty bad body slam then he started crying and carrying on,” Mr Hodder said.

“He was only a kid, so I didn’t want to give him a touch up.”

Dan hodder thwarted a mugging at Clifford Gardens on June 8, 2022.

Mr Hodder said the 16-year-old boy was shocked to see his mates had abandoned him.

“He was crying and asking for his mother,” he said.

Police were called and arrested the boy. He is due to face the Toowoomba Children’s Court in the coming days charged the robbery and a raft of unrelated property offences

The incident comes after prowlers broke into the centre via the ceiling on June 6, and a 76-year-old woman was assaulted and had her car stolen on May 27 by two girls aged 14 and 16.

Mr Hodder lives nearby and said he assumed it was a matter of time before he witnessed an attack.

“I didn’t really think about it, I just acted,” he said. “They are young kids picking on old women because they think they are soft targets.”

A centre spokeswoman said security at the centre had been tightened.

“Toowoomba Police are patrolling the centre on a more frequent basis, working with site security to create a safe environment, she said.

“We continue to monitor customer safety and respond swiftly.”