By CAM LUCADOU-WELLS
REPORTED crimes in Greater Dandenong have dipped in the past year but there’s still “a long way to go until we’re happy”, says Inspector Paul Marshall of Victoria Police.
In the year ending in March 2015 there were 16,048 reported offences – down 1.9 per cent – and in stark contrast to a 12.9 per cent rise in neighbouring Casey.
Inspector Marshall said drug offences had slightly dropped due to a targeting of the cultivators and manufacturers.
“We’re not targeting users so much but generating intelligence from them to target the supply chain.”
The drug ice was still contributing to a lot of serious crimes such as property damage, thefts and assaults, he said.
“More importantly, it’s a family breaker,” Insp Marshall said of the drug.
“It turns good people and makes them do horrific things such as stealing their family’s property and pawning the items.”
He said theft of vehicles, theft from vehicles – including number plates – and burglaries remained highly prevalent offences.
“The vast majority of this offending is opportunistic,” Insp Marshall said.
“We urge people to lock their doors and cars, to take responsibility for their own property.”
He said there was a “considerable” surge in family violence and intervention order breaches.
“We’re happy with that because that’s an indication that the community has confidence to bring these issues to us and that we’re holding people to account.”
Insp Marshall said targeting family violence offenders was leading to “reports of family violence going up but recidivism going down”.
There were significant reductions in thefts, property-by-deception and public order crimes, he said.
