‘Dob in a Hoon’ campaign encourages people to report reckless and dangerous driving

Tasmanian hoons have been warned that they will be caught, either by detection on the ground, or by eyes in the sky. FIND OUT HOW >>

Mark Forteath, Senior Sergeant and Matt Smith, Senior Constable are shown with the new Police drone at Hobart Domain. Picture Eddie Safarik.

TASMANIAN hoons have been warned they will be caught through new technologies – either through social media and dashcam or in the air as the community unites against the menace of “idiot drivers.”

The state now has an arsenal of more than 30 drones.

Police and Emergency Services Minister Felix Ellis said the government had invested almost $1m in drone technology as the Tasmanian community united against hooning.

Last year, 164 cars were clamped and 404 confiscated.

Clarence City Council on Monday welcomed the government’s $860,000 for drones which can pursue offenders through remote and normally inaccessible terrain.

Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Management Felix Ellis, with chief remote pilot Senior Sergeant Mark Forteath and Inspector Shane LeFevre.

“This announcement, along with Crime Stoppers’ push for online reporting launched yesterday, compliments Clarence City Council’s work with Tasmania Police to combat hooning through the launch of a campaign aimed to stamp out hooning on the Eastern Shore,” Clarence City Mayor Brendan Blomeley said.

The new ‘Dob in a Hoon’ campaign encourages residents to make a stand and better report reckless and dangerous driving behaviour to the police.

“The community is fed up with anti-social behaviour and is no longer willing to tolerate it in their backyard,” Mr Blomeley said.

“Clarence is not unique in the fact that hooning, street racing, burnouts, and other dangerous driving behaviours are a great concern for the community due to a small minority of people.

Mark Forteath, Senior Sergeant and Matt Smith, Senior Constable are shown with a police drone. Picture Eddie Safarik.

“We want to send a clear message that this kind of unsafe behaviour is unacceptable in our city, and that we implore our residents to work hand-in-hand with Tasmania Police to stamp out this behaviour.”

Crime Stoppers Tasmania CEO David Higgins at the weekend said hooning accounted for about one third of all reports made to the community service.

Mr Ellis said there was “hardly a day” when drones were not put in the air in either a search and rescue capability or to catch criminals.

“I say to those idiots hooning, we will track you and we will catch you,” he said.

Mr Ellis encouraged anyone who witnessed hooning to contact police immediately on 131 444, on the Tasmania Police website at Report Dangerous Driving-Tasmania Police or Crime Stoppers Tasmania.

“Providing information like the location, registration number and vehicle description gives police the best chance of being able to stop hooning quickly. Dashcam footage or CCTV can be uploaded to the police website evidence portal or sent to Crime Stoppers at any time,” Mr Ellis said.