Former Shoalhaven City councillor Bob Proudfoot called the meeting in response to the spate of serious crimes committed in the central Shoalhaven.

“Something needs to be done. It is getting out of control,” he said.

“We have armed robbers using guns, machetes, knives. In the latest incident it was a house brick. Someone is going to get killed.

“There is a strong feeling we are being neglected and under policed to such an extent that it has become a farce.”

He said t he criminals were driven by drugs, in particular ice, as they tried to feed their habits.

“We want something done right now to stop the proliferation of the drug ice and the devastating effects it is having on people,” he said.

Mr Proudfoot said invitations to attend the meeting had been sent to South Coast MP Shelley Hancock, Labor candidate Fiona Phillips, Police Minister Stuart Ayres, the shadow minister and Shoalhaven Mayor Joanna Gash.

“It will give the community the opportunity to voice their frustrations. There is a dire situation in the central Shoalhaven,” he said.

“Not a week goes by without something happening, be it armed robberies or break and enters.

“We feel isolated, neglected, left out.

“We keep getting told policing is done on a certain formulas, we want that changed.

“We are sick and tired of being told crime stats don’t warrant more police in the area.

“The stats are flawed.

“We want to draw attention to the government that we want proactive police, not reactive.

“We want community police, who live in our local area, are proactive, engage with the community, come up with information to be able to run down and solve crime before it happens.

“We want the Police Minister to realise that country and regional areas need to be staffed and treated differently to city areas.”

Mr Proudfoot said central Shoalhaven needed a significant increase of police.

Mr Proudfoot expected the country club auditorium, which holds 500 people, to be full on Monday night, with the meeting getting under way at 7pm.