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Wednesday 12 October 2016
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Timber toppled
TREES were uprooted and boat sunk at Mordialloc Creek on Sunday when a storm hit the bayside region. SES crews were kept busy responding to emergency calls and cleaning up in the wake of wild winds. See story Page 7. Picture: Gary Sissons
More police to tackle crime Stephen Taylor steve@baysidenews.com.au HIRING extra police is expected to go some way towards easing the perceived crime wave across Melbourne’s southern suburbs, according to the state government – especially in dealing with home invasions and carjackings. The latest crime statistics released by the Crime Statistics Agency (“Crime ‘out of control’, The News 5/10/16) revealed a surge of 9.3 per cent in crime in Kingston in the past year, including a 150 per cent jump in abductions, has been blamed on state government cuts
to police numbers and fewer station opening hours, along with weaker bail laws. The crime statistics, delayed by the previous weekend’s AFL Grand Final, reveal that, for the year ending June, a record 11,221 offences were reported in Kingston compared to 10,268 a year ago. This is 953 more offences. The rise includes an “alarming” 75.2 per cent surge in sexual offences, as well as a 23.2 per cent rise in burglary, 21.3 per cent in robberies, 18.8 per cent in ‘dangerous acts’ and 18.2 per cent in thefts. South Eastern Metropolitan Region
Liberal MLC Inga Peulich said crime in Kingston was up 17.8 per cent since the election of the Andrews government in November 2014. In comparison, crime in Frankston was up 12.5 per cent, while the Mornington Peninsula’s reported crime rate was up 9.6 per cent. Neighbours Casey and Cardinia also had problems, with close to 20 per cent more crime than last year. Of the 79 local government areas in the state, 75 had increases in crime over the past 12 months. Announcing the fast-tracking of officers last week, Labor Police Minister
Lisa Neville said the Police Academy would run “at capacity” to train 406 new police as the state government brings forward the recruitment of more frontline police. She said the decision to hire more officers by the end of June 2017, rather than June 2018 “reflects the need for more officers in Victoria’s growth communities” and follows “detailed discussions with Chief Commissioner of Police Graham Ashton”. The first of the officers will “hit the beat” in early 2017. They will cost $26.2 million with the amount budgeted for in next year’s Victorian Budget.
Ms Neville confirmed the government was introducing new laws “to target offenders who commit home invasions and carjackings”. Opposition police spokesman Edward O’Donohue said Premier Daniel Andrews should give police the “resources they need to reopen all the police stations that have been forced to cut their hours, and put more police on the beat”. “Make no mistake, these crime statistics are the result of Daniel Andrews’ cuts to police, closing of police stations, and weakening of bail laws,” he said.
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