Police take to the street

By Shaun Inguanzo
POLICE will strengthen their efforts to crackdown on alcohol-fuelled violence and disorder in Greater Dandenong after hailing last year’s operation a success.
Crime has dropped by 5.3 per cent in Greater Dandenong over the past 12 months according to official figures released this week.
The figures show a significant increase in the number of public disorder offences, which includes drinking in the street, from 59 offences in 2006/07 to 176 in 2007/08.
Assistant Commissioner Paul Evans said this was due to the number of offences detected during Operation Sarazan, which targeted public disorder in Noble Park and Dandenong late last year, and over the summer.
Mr Evans said police would now conduct a permanent operation in the wake of Sarazan, called Street Safe, around Greater Dandenong and with the same police presence.
Targeted drug operations resulted in an 11.8 percent increase in the cultivation, manufacture and trafficking of illicit drugs.
Despite detecting 383 offences, drug possession and use dipped by a slight 1.6 per cent.
“There’s a lot of work to be done this spring and summer,” Mr Evans said in relation to Street Safe.
“We will be tasking resources to Street Safe as a regular shift.”
Region Five Division Two Superintendent Neville Taylor said ‘soft target’ robberies, such as stealing money or electronic devices from people on the street, had dropped due to Sarazan, and would continue to drop with the continued police presence in Street Safe.
Meanwhile, Mr Evans and Supt Taylor warned motorists to take care on the roads after figures revealed the Region might hit 100 fatalities for the 2008 calendar year.
Mr Evans said speed and alcohol was the recurring factor in nearly all of the 61 deaths on Region Five roads so far.
“There are 22 more people dead than there were this time last year,” Mr Evans said.
“If they were 22 murders, there would be hell to pay, but on the roads people just don’t get the message.”