By CAM LUCADOU-WELLS
CASEY’S soaring crime rate – up more than 15 per cent on a per capita basis in the past year – has sparked a political row on police numbers.
Opposition police spokesman Ed O’Donohue in response to the official police statistics’ release on 16 June took special aim at Cranbourne MP Jude Perera for “failing to demand more police on the beat”.
“If Jude Perera can’t get more police in Cranbourne then he is failing the most basic duty as a state MP.”
According to the 12-month statistics, weapons and explosives offences rose 60 per cent, in raw figures, up from 513 to 800.
Other sharply-rising categories included drugs, burglaries, breach of orders, robbery, arson and stalking and harassment.
Family violence continued to rise, increasing by 9.2 per cent on a per capita basis.
Highest crime rises occurred in Endeavour Hills (44.9 per cent), Doveton (21.9 per cent) and Cranbourne (21.2 per cent).
Mr O’Donohue said full-time police officers in Casey had dropped under the Andrews government from 156.89 FTE to just 149.89 FTE in the midst of a “spate of carjackings, home invasions, drive-by shootings and gang violence”.
Mr Perera returned fire, saying the statistics clearly showed police targeted more crime, made more arrests and charged more offenders.
The State Government recently announced a $596 million public safety package for an extra 406 sworn police, including 300 more on the frontline in the next two years.
More than 100 specialist police will join the anti-gang taskforce, public order response teams, forensics and special operations group.
There was also funding for an armoured vehicle, bomb robots and a specialist training facility.
“Unfortunately Mr O’Donohue and his Liberal colleagues left Casey and its residents high and dry when it came to community safety,” Mr Perera said.
“We are finishing the job they wouldn’t.”
Detective Senior Sgt Terry Rowlands, of Casey CIU, said residential burglaries, car theft as well as theft from cars remained an issue.
He played down the role of youth gangs, such as the Apex Gang linked to aggravated burglaries, armed robberies and carjackings.
“We have and continue to remind the community to be vigilant and not leave their valuables easily accessible to offenders.”
