Northern Tablelands and Tamworth SFF candidates Rayne Single and Jeff Bacon have started a petition with the Facebook Armidale Crime Prevention and Neighbourhood Watch Community Group.

The petition will be presented to SFF Orange MP Phil Donato next month.

To sign it, contact the Facebook group; Mr Single on 0423 894 667; or at the Community Connects Day on February 23, in Richardson’s Arcade, outside Kmart.

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“After only 24 hours, we have collected more than 120 signatures,” Mr Single said. "This clearly shows there is an issue here that has been overlooked for some time. We need more police patrolling to deal with the drugs and crime.”

Facebook group moderator Kathy Clare said the region needed a rehabilitation service.

“Country towns aren’t like they used to be,” she said. “You see and hear it on the news all the time: kids on drugs, committing crime, stealing cars, breaking into homes, people selling drugs like ice to kids. The world has changed.

“Why are all the services in the city? Our kids need help, too.

“My children have spent years without their dad, because he got onto ice, and in with the wrong crowd. We now visit him in a mental health facility, due to what it’s done to his mind.

“It’s sad. If only we could have accessed services like this a long time ago, we might not be where we are now. It could have saved a marriage, and the kids might have a life with their dad.”

Mr Single, who grew up in the rough area that inspired the group’s creation, outlined how things had changed.

“When I was a kid, you could walk down to the servo and pizza shop to pick up dinner. Now, you can’t expect to walk down there in daylight hours without being approached – and I wouldn’t suggest it after dark.”