The kidnapping and robbery of IGA manager Les Corish enters a whole new realm. The robbers appear to have been acting with a good degree of forethought and planning, which suggests they had local knowledge. 

They knew Mr Corish operated two supermarkets and that trade on Australia Day would have been brisk, with plenty of cash at  both premises.

Of course, Mr Corish is no stranger to crime and antisocial behaviour in the Bay and Basin, speaking out last year about the need for beat police in the area to deter would-be offenders and reassure law-abiding members of the community. 

This latest incident has raised eyebrows and hackles in the community, which has been clamouring for, at best, a permanent police presence in the form of a fully manned station and, at the least, for increased police patrols.

Also causing irritation is the stalled installation of CCTV cameras at the Sanctuary Point shopping centres. Federal funding has been allocated but concerns about installing security cameras on private property has seen the initiative stalled. 

The pressure is now on Shoalhaven City Council to get the cameras out of the bureaucratic black hole into which they fallen and on the NSW government and police force to make the neighbourhood more secure. Pressure is also mounting on the opposition as it heads into the election campaign without a firm pledge to address residents’ security concerns.