Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Darwin Basketball Association’s Kerri Savidge says Fridays night sporting event are no longer fun like they used to be due to anti-social behaviour

Transcript

Darwin Basketball Association’s Kerri Savidge says Fridays night sporting event are no longer fun like they used to be due to anti-social behaviour · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: You may or may not have seen that we are
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: in a situation where, unfortunately there's been some anti social behavior,
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  Speaker 1: some issues that are spilt out into local sport. Now
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  Speaker 1: here to tell us a little bit more about the
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  Speaker 1: experience for Darwin Basketball is Kerry Savage. And she joins
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  Speaker 1: me on the line right now. She's the executive officer
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  Speaker 1: for Darwin Basketball. Good morning, Kerry, Hi Katie, how are
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  Speaker 1: you not too bad? Tell us about what exactly has
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  Speaker 1: gone on out there at Darwin Basketball.
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  Speaker 2: We've just had groups of young people who coming into
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  Speaker 2: the stadiums and I'm trying to be so tactful here
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  Speaker 2: and I'm not watching basketball. They're here to cause trouble,
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  Speaker 2: they're here to be intimidating, and it's just not a
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  Speaker 2: happy place the last few weeks.
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  Speaker 1: Well, and Kerry, I'm imagining that it's probably pretty hard
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  Speaker 1: for you to even sort of come out and say
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  Speaker 1: that because you guys love your basketball. Everybody that's at
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  Speaker 1: Darwin Basketball absolutely loves it. And the last thing that
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  Speaker 1: you want to be doing is talking the place down
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  Speaker 1: in any way. But it sounds like this is having
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  Speaker 1: an impact for players and everybody out there.
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  Speaker 2: It is Friday nights at basketball used to be, you know,
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  Speaker 2: a really fun family night. We've got some fantastic members,
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  Speaker 2: some really good players, and it was a great place
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  Speaker 2: to hang out. And I guess the important thing is
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  Speaker 2: is being able to face the fact that we haven't
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  Speaker 2: got it all under control, go out to our members,
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  Speaker 2: go out to some community groups, and go, hey, what
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  Speaker 2: action are we going to take? Which is what we've
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  Speaker 2: done over the last couple of days. And in all honesty,
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  Speaker 2: it was really hard to come out and put a
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  Speaker 2: negative connotation on this great place. But we've done it
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  Speaker 2: and we're going.
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  Speaker 1: To fight it. Yeah, and good on you guys, because,
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  Speaker 1: like I say, I know so many families that are
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  Speaker 1: involved in basketball. It is a fantastic sport in the territory.
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  Speaker 1: It's so you know, it is so well taken up.
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  Speaker 1: There's so many kids, adults, everyone playing basketball in the tree.
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  Speaker 1: But Kerry, what kind of impact has this been sort
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  Speaker 1: of having more broadly than on people's safety in the
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  Speaker 1: way that you guys feel when you're there, and like.
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  Speaker 3: It is, it is difficult.
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  Speaker 2: Some people don't even notice it's happening. People who are
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  Speaker 2: highly alert or highly vigilant or come across it. I'm
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  Speaker 2: getting emails at all hours of the night phone. Of course,
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  Speaker 2: they don't feel happy, they don't feel safe. The members
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  Speaker 2: have paid their money. They not only expect a safe venue,
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  Speaker 2: they deserve a safe venue. I've had, you know, my staff,
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  Speaker 2: don't you know, at times don't feel safe. I don't
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  Speaker 2: feel safe. Someplay not so much. Yeah, it's not fun,
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  Speaker 2: it's not enjoyable. I can't sit in watch again a
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  Speaker 2: basketball because I'm on a high alert. Oh yeah, you know.
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  Speaker 2: The last couple of days, I do have to point
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  Speaker 2: out this. I've had some unbelievable support from a lot
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  Speaker 2: of agencies, a lot of people, a lot of members.
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  Speaker 2: I've even had grandparents putting out their hand to say, hey,
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  Speaker 2: what can we do to help because we want our
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  Speaker 2: grain kids to be there.
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  Speaker 3: So we've got.
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  Speaker 2: Some really good plans that we're going to put into
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  Speaker 2: place for this week, and I really hope I can
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  Speaker 2: report back that it works and continues to work.
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  Speaker 1: I hope so too, Kerry. What are you looking at
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  Speaker 1: implementing to try and sort this out.
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  Speaker 2: We're looking at limiting our access points. We have identified
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  Speaker 2: that that's a problem. When there's more than one access
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  Speaker 2: point into a venue, there's more than one area to
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  Speaker 2: keep an eye on. We under eighteen year olds must
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  Speaker 2: be accompanied by an adult or guardian into it. We're
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  Speaker 2: roping off some of the sections which tend to be
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  Speaker 2: dark or have access points to charge your phones and things.
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  Speaker 2: We're trying to get our members if they see something
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  Speaker 2: to say something, you know, just making us all more
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  Speaker 2: aware and also aware of those community groups and assistance
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  Speaker 2: bodies that are out there and have put their hand
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  Speaker 2: up and said hey, we'll be there. That's Mission Australia,
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  Speaker 2: Laroche and Nation the Community Youth Justice Worker. They're saying,
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  Speaker 2: let us help in. I want to think I didn't
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  Speaker 2: know that so many people out there that are able
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  Speaker 2: to help.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, and this is the thing, if it's not
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  Speaker 1: ever been a real issue before, it's probably a bit
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  Speaker 1: of a learning curve for everybody.
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  Speaker 2: Oh absolutely, you know when.
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  Speaker 1: You all of a sudden having to deal with something
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  Speaker 1: that you've not had to deal with before, because Gary,
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  Speaker 1: what have you sort of had to do? Have you
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  Speaker 1: had to call the police at different times we have, but.
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  Speaker 2: As everyone is aware, police has such a big job
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  Speaker 2: on a Friday night that dealing sometimes with youth is
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  Speaker 2: you know, who aren't in like unless I guess what
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  Speaker 2: low scale.
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  Speaker 3: Low scale is.
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  Speaker 2: So it's hard to then find the police and then
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  Speaker 2: say hey, I want to hear it. So on basketball
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  Speaker 2: when we have a responsibility also to our members to
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  Speaker 2: provide a safe environment, so we have called the police
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  Speaker 2: on occasions.
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  Speaker 3: It just seems to be every time it escalates to
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  Speaker 3: that stage, disappear, I come back again. You know, they
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  Speaker 3: know how to play it, they know how to play
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  Speaker 3: out too. Yeah, so this is certainly not a police
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  Speaker 3: and police only issue. You know, some of it's a
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  Speaker 3: parenting issue too. Seven year old kids shouldn't be a.
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  Speaker 2: Basketball on a Friday night understended.
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  Speaker 1: No, And I think the point that is certainly worth
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  Speaker 1: me asking they're not kids that are playing basketball, are they,
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  Speaker 1: or that are involved in the sport?
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  Speaker 2: No, if they had any interest or wish to be
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  Speaker 2: involved in the sport, it's something we can usually convert
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  Speaker 2: them over. But it's an air conditioned venue with free
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  Speaker 2: WiFi that seems to be a fairly fun place for
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  Speaker 2: them to cause some trouble. And I guess the important
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  Speaker 2: thing is just is like trying to nip it in
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  Speaker 2: the bud early and have people vigilant and aware and
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  Speaker 2: prepared to say we're not going to accept.
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  Speaker 1: It, which I think is fair enough, and it is
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  Speaker 1: something that you do need to do. You don't want
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  Speaker 1: you don't want other people feeling unsafe when they're out
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  Speaker 1: there at basketball. It's a wonderful place, so many great
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  Speaker 1: people there, so you don't want it to be a
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  Speaker 1: situation where people aren't feeling as though it's it is
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  Speaker 1: that wonderful place that they're used to being at.
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  Speaker 2: Exactly.
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  Speaker 1: Oh, Kerry, I really hope that you know that some
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  Speaker 1: of those changes that you've pointed out there that they
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  Speaker 1: make a difference. We might try and catch up with
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  Speaker 1: you in a week or so to hear how it's
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  Speaker 1: all going.
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  Speaker 2: Oh, I hope I can give you a great news story,
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  Speaker 2: so do.
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  Speaker 1: I Kerry, good to speak to you this morning. All
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  Speaker 1: the very best and hopefully it all gets sorted out quickly.
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  Speaker 3: Thanks Katie, Thank you,