Mornington
CAMRY ALTISE
Your guide to what’s on this weekend for peninsula families
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Tuesday 8 September 2015
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Positive message: Taeheisha, from Our Lady Fatima Primary School, Rosebud, Georgia (Red Hill Consolidated), Brodie (Hastings), Ajarnae (Mt Martha) and Ash (Crib Point) relate to the ‘I see, I care’ message. The excavator in the background is lifting litter traps. Picture: Gary Sissons
Marine care on the syllabus PENINSULA primary school “marine ambassadors” helped a Melbourne Water maintenance crew inspect and remove rubbish from a litter net at Tanti Creek Wetlands, Mornington, last week. It was part of the Dolphin Research Institute’s hands-on ‘I sea, I care’ program. The pupils examined the types of litter caught in the net and learned about the institute’s “catchment to coast” initiative which teaches them that litter dropped on the street can end up in the bay, posing a threat to marine animals, like the dolphin. They also learned about stormwater harvesting and completed some water quality testing. In the afternoon the pupils visited Schnapper Point to learn how to survey for dolphins and litter.
Mobile gangs moving south Stephen Taylor steve@mpnews.com.au CRIME gangs with a disciplined culture and ability to plan and set targets has given a new potency to crime in Frankston and on the Mornington Peninsula. The tech savvy gangs use social media, including Facebook, and encryption apps to co-ordinate activities, allowing their members to mobilise and disperse quickly, recruit members and plan their next hit.
Easy access to stolen cars and quicker freeway travel times mean that our once sleepy hamlets are now high on the agenda of the often race-related gangs who regard “slap on the wrist” penalties as green cards to commit more crimes. Mornington Detective Sergeant Nick Vallas said recent raids on the peninsula could be linked to a crime gang from Dandenong. “We can’t say they are definitely gang members, but they probably are,” he said. “They adopt a common theme
before committing crimes, which they call missioning. This may be to break into a car and steal it, or, if the car’s locked, to break into the house and steal the car’s keys and then steal it. The stolen cars are then used to rob other cars. “It’s this willingness to go to any lengths to achieve their aim that worries us.” Car owners are making it easy for thieves. On Saturday night, 22 August, eight cars were broken into in Bentons and Dunns roads, Mt Martha, with
thieves stealing a Subaru – later recovered in Frankston North – and loose change. Detective Sergeant Jason Hocking, of Mornington CIU, said all the cars are believed to have been unlocked. “We go on about it, but people are still making it easy for thieves.” He said the incidents are not believed to be gang related. In Mt Martha the same night, up to four men burgled a house on The Esplanade, at 3am Sunday 23 August, frightening a couple who woke to find
them rifling through bedside cupboards and draws. The men, described as African or islander in appearance, were using mobilephones as torches, going from room to room searching for valuables. They left with jewellery valued at $20,000 when the couple raised the alarm. A Hampton Park man, 24, believed to be the get-away driver, was arrested by Mornington police and, although not being charged with any offence on the night, may be charged at a later date. Continued Page 4
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