Sutherland LAC - NSW Police Force

The Sutherland Local Area Command (LAC) is on the southern fringes of Sydney, between Sydney and Wollongong. Geographically the command is the largest in the inner metropolitan area being 300 square kilometres in size. A large part of the LAC is the Royal National Park. The major suburbs are Sutherland, Menai, and Engadine. There are 28 suburbs within the command. Adjoining local area commands include Miranda LAC to the east, Wollongong LAC to the south Liverpool LAC to the west, Bankstown to the north west and Hurstville to north. The Sutherland LAC is within the Sutherland Shire which includes the Miranda LAC.
The Shire is also the largest local government area in southern Sydney. The Sutherland LAC falls within the Heathcote District of the State electorate and the division of Hughes for the Federal electorate.

The nuclear reactor at ANSTO, Lucas Heights is another prominent feature. There are about 80 schools within the LAC. This does not include Pre schools.

Critical infrastructure which maybe vulnerable to acts of terrorism or politically motivated violence include the nuclear reactor at ANSTO located on Old Illawarra Road at Lucas Heights, the Como Railway Bridge (Como to Oatley), Alfords Point Bridge (Alfords Point to Padstow), Woronora Bridge (Sutherland to Bangor) and the Woronora Dam located on Woronora Road Dam Road to the south of the command bordering Wollongong and Liverpool Local Area Commands.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2001 census data, the Sutherland LAC population was estimated at 121,400. The predominant birthplace was Australia (99,803) followed by England (5100). The main language spoken at home is English (109,303) followed by Greek (2026). The ABS estimated the total population for the Sutherland Shire in June 2002 to be 215,028. See attached Annexure.

Much of the growth in new housing production has occurred in the zones located around the main railway stations (Sutherland, Gymea and Engadine) and the Menai Town Centre.

Growth around the railway stations has been caused by the replacement of detached dwellings with multi-dwelling housing, generally residential units, villas and townhouses. Growth in Menai is due to the continuing subdivision and development of land for dwelling houses, and due to some multi-dwelling housing around the Menai Town Centre.

In contrast to these growth areas, some areas of the Shire are experiencing population decline. These areas are generally situated in the central portion of the Shire (Sylvania, Loftus and Kareela) and also in areas around Yarrawarrah, Engadine and Heathcote. This decline can be attributed to a number of factors including the ageing of the local population and changes in family structure.

The completion of the Woronora Bridge project in February 2001 has also lead to an increase in the number of people visiting and travelling through the Sutherland LAC. This bridge allows a quicker and easier access route for people travelling from the Bankstown LAC to the Sutherland LAC and vice versa.

The main suburbs where crime occurs are Sutherland, Menai, Engadine and Gymea/Kirrawee. These suburbs have large shopping centres where many residents and visitors congregate. A major railway line runs through the LAC. One branch runs from Wollongong to Waterfall, Heathcote, Engadine, Loftus and Sutherland, then Jannali and Como and on to the city and Bondi Junction. Another branch comes from the beach suburbs of Cronulla to Gymea and Kirrawee, then Sutherland and into the city and Bondi Junction. The Sutherland Railway Station is where these two branches meet. This is a contributing factor to opportunistic crime happening in these suburbs. A large number of people use the train system especially on weekdays and many criminals ride the train system as well.

With almost 80 schools in the LAC Sutherland has a high percentage of the juveniles living in the area and visiting the area. Juveniles commit a large percentage of property crime, predominantly B&E, SFMV, stolen vehicle and malicious damage that occur in our area. Juveniles seem to target other juveniles and the elderly as their main victims.