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Residents reeling after week’s events BY COLIN ENGELBRECHT COLIN.E@THEGUARDIAN.CO.NZ
IN TODAY’S GUARDIAN
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is set to wow Ashburton audiences.
A week of crime has left Ashburton residents fearing for their town, but a sociologist says it may just be a phase. Doctor Jarrod Gilbert, sociologist at University of Canterbury, said he wasn’t aware of much gang activity in Ashburton. “It may just be a blip, a spate of crimes, it might not amount to much in the medium or long-term,” he said. He said with young people their offending is sometimes just a fad they grow out of. “In recent years we’ve seen the emergence of new styles of youth gangs that do conform to more American ideals of gangs, those Bloods and Crips ideals.
“They spring up and fade away and are fluid and fleeting, the kids grow out of it,” he said. Last weekend police arrested two youths after a burglary at Robbie’s Bar and Bistro on Saturday night. That same night there was an attempted arson at Tinwald School and a car on Catherine Street was set alight. Senior Sergeant Scott Banfield said on Monday the youths connected to the Robbie’s burglary were also strong suspects in the car arson case. On Monday night police were called by Ashburton Hospital staff after three adults received treatment following an alleged attack by eight people armed with baseball bats. Senior Sergeant Banfield said the vic-
tims were unco-operative and refused to make a formal complaint. Police attended a McDonald Street property on Wednesday following a fatal stabbing. Tainui James Wano, 25, has been named as the victim and a 23-year-old man has been charged with murder. Many people have expressed their anger about the crimes on the Facebook. Some posts have gone so far to suggest forming vigilante groups to deal with the offending.
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