MAY 31, 2017 \ STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
NEWS + SPORT + THE WEST’S BEST PROPERTY GUIDE
Safety fears soar A surge of violent crimes has Tarneit and Truganina residents living in fear. Star Weekly has spoken to several residents, who asked not be identified because of fears for their safety, who say they are afraid to leave their homes after dark. One resident, who was attacked by a group of up to 10 youths while jogging in a Truganina park on May 19, said he feared he would die in the attack. “I was in a war-torn place for the last few years,” he said. “I thought when I came to Australia that it would be safer – now I have got to re-think that.” A Tarneit resident, who lives near the Ecoville Community Park, said youths who frequented the park often engaged in anti-social behaviour. “We’ve seen them with bats, knives and a taser,” he said. A woman said her family was still traumatised after an aggravated burglary at their Truganina home in July last year in which five youths allegedly hit her husband several times with a hammer. The woman said many residents in the area were feeling unsafe in their own neighbourhood. Residents are calling for more police in Wyndham, stricter sentencing for offenders and additional initiatives to engage with at-risk youths. Neighbourhood Watch Tarneit chairman Rishi Prabhakar said the group had joined with the Heartlands Residents Committee to host a security forum on Sunday. He said the forum, which will be attended by Wyndham police, would give residents ideas about how to be safe.
Crime time May 28: Shooting and stabbing in Knightsbridge Drive. May 26: Allegedly stolen car crashes into a fence near Limelight Street. May 23: Homeowner disturbs an attempted burglary at a house in Tilwinda Place. May 19: Carjacking on Wickford Road, Tarneit. May 19: Jogger attacked about 8.30pm in a Truganina park. May 17: Carjacking outside a Tarneit school. May 16: One man shot and three others injured at a Conway Street house. Inspector Martin Allison said police were “particularly concerned” about “high-victim impact crimes” such as aggravated burglaries and carjackings. “With respect to the aggravated burglaries in Tarneit and Truganina, we’ve already deployed additional resources to those areas,” he said. Inspector Allison said more police officers had been placed on night shifts to allow for an increased response and presence. Wyndham safer communities portfolio holder Kim McAliney said the council was in regular contact with groups such as the Maori Wardens and the South Sudanese Wyndham Patrol in efforts to engage with disaffected youth. The security forum will be held from 2.30-3.30pm at Club Heartlands, Tarneit, on Sunday, June 4.
(Damjan Janevski)
By Alesha Capone
The world at her feet Werribee teenager Laura Younger has been named as one of three state finalists in the Miss World Australia competition. The trio were selected out of 40 entrants who took part in a Melbourne event last month. Ms Younger, 19, said her sister entered her “as a joke”. “But then I actually got in, I was so surprised,” Ms Younger said. She said she had decided to fundraise for Variety, the Children’s Charity as part of her Miss World Australia campaign. Ms Younger, who is studying a bachelor of nursing at university, said she also hoped to pursue a career in modelling. The next round of the competition will be on June 7. See missworldaustralia2017.everydayhero.com/au/beauty-with-apurpose-1 to contribute to Ms Younger’s fundraising efforts. Alesha Capone