This month we say farewell to Mark Fleskens of the Newman Police Station. Mark has been in Newman for two and half years and is leaving to take up a new role as an Inspector in Karratha.
In a long and varied career in policing, Mark has been working for WA Police for nearly 40 years including Regional WA, specialized units, the Office of Crime Prevention in the Department of Premier and Cabinet and most recently as the Officer in Charge of the Newman Police Station. Mark is well-positioned to comment on the safety of Newman compared to other areas of WA.
“Perception of crime in town is driven by social media but in fact Newman is a very safe town,” he says, “There is a very small likelihood of personal safety being an issue for people in Newman and a very low level of violent offences against the general public. There are also very few burglaries on houses.”
One thing Mark would like to see is companies placing GPS trackers in fleet cars. “This would reduce the likelihood of work cars being stolen,” he says, “And it would increase the police’s ability of recovering them quickly and without damage if they are stolen, which reduces the downtime for the companies not having a vehicle.”
When asked what he would miss the most about Newman, Mark says without question it would be the Martu kids. “It’s a fantastic community” he says, “The willingness of the Martu kids to engage with police and the relationships the police have built up with Martu people has been very positive. KJ Rangers have been an integral part of this journey and continue to be a strong ally.
