By Marcus Uhe
Dandenong train station has maintained the unwanted status as one of the most dangerous stations in Victoria, according to recent data from the Crime Statistics Agency.
Dandenong ranked third for total offences recorded at Victorian train stations by station between January and July in 2021 with 139 offences, only trailing Flinders Street and Southern Cross stations in the CBD, making it the highest-ranking suburban station.
It follows the same ranking for number of offences by calendar year between 2016 and 2020 inclusive.
Public order and security offences, such as disorderly conduct, public nuisance or weapons offences, were the most common incident-type in this period, followed by drug offences and property and deception offences.
The station has been a target of recent Police blitzes such as Operation Omni, which ran in both January 2021 and January 2022, where Police were granted increased search powers to target weapons offences, gather intelligence and enhance community safety at popular locations in the South East, including Dandenong Plaza, Fountain Gate Shopping Centre and Pakenham’s CBD.
Speaking after the operation concluded in January this year, Acting Inspector Dean Grande said the aim was to detect illegal weapons in “high risk locations” and “get them off the streets before they cause any harm in our community”, and declared the operation a “success” overall.
2021’s Operation, which took place during the period the data was collected, saw police check more than 160 people and 20 different vehicles between Thursday 7 January and Saturday 9 January, resulting in 16 arrests and the seizure of knives, a knuckleduster and a Taser, among other items.
PSO’s and police from Dandenong’s Frontline Tactical Unit and Transit Safety Division joined forces with assisting authorised officers to conduct Operation Tidmouth last week, where transport hubs including Dandenong and Springvale Station were patrolled, detecting 17 behavioural offences, two drugs and weapons offences and a number of outstanding arrest warrants were executed over a two-day period.
