By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A pair of traders have powerfully urged Greater Dandenong councillors to act on a spate of crime plaguing Dandenong’s CBD.
“Dandenong was a brilliant location but it is being destroyed because there is no concerted effort to control crime in the street,” said one of the traders as he addressed a 22 May council meeting.
“We can say that’s not a council responsibility. I totally refute that claim because it is my belief that public safety should be the No.1 priority of any local government.
“It’s time every councillor opens their eyes and (says) we’ve got a problem here before you have a serious injury or someone dies on the street.”
He urged the council to lobby the State Government to relocate the bus interchange in Langhorne Street.
“That is a massive problem for crime in the area.”
Another trader said groups armed with a machete, baseball bat and sticks brawled on his doorstep three weeks ago. He called police, and no one turned up.
Days later, his premises was robbed. He claimed police again failed to respond after the alleged robber returned outside four days later.
He called a local MP’s office, a councillor and Dandenong police but “literally nothing is being done” about crime.
“Someone needs to take responsibility.”
Victoria Police told Star Journal that they were following-up with the second trader. The council stated that it believes police have charged the alleged robber.
Since the meeting, Cr Jim Memeti called for the council to reinstate its Safer Streets program in Dandenong’s “dangerous” CBD.
The council recently halted funding for the joint Victoria Police campaign, due to “current budget restraints” – despite traders reporting an ascendency of violence, vagrancy and vandalism.
Cr Memeti says funding was linked to reactivating parking meters on Lonsdale Street last September.
“Things have got bad over the last few months.
“There’s been a lot of trouble in Lonsdale Street, Thomas Street and Langhorne Street. It’s become very dangerous and shop-owners have called me very angry.”
As part of Safer Streets, a mobile CCTV camera and regular police foot patrols were deployed, as well as community safety forums with traders, police and council officers.
Cr Memeti called for a community safety forum bringing together MPs, police, traders, residents and social-support agencies.
This was supported by Cr Rhonda Garad, who said for the first time in 30 years she was feeling unsafe in Dandenong CBD.
“You just have to walk around Dandenong to see how it is deteriorating. I feel reluctant to shop in Dandenong right now and that’s not right.
“Being safe is a basic right. Why should people in Dandenong feel scared to go to their local shopping centre?”
She said policing wasn’t the problem but there were “bigger issues” like lack of housing and mental health behind it.
She wants the DHS and support agencies to have an “intense focus” on the area.
“I’m calling on the mayor to be calling for a local emergency meeting on this. I would be calling everyone around the table to be addressing this urgently.”
Mayor Eden Foster said the council continued to support joint community safety forums.
“We recognise our local community’s concern.
“We work incredibly closely with Victoria Police in responding to community needs.
“We are also working to further our advocacy efforts at a state level, as well as identifying additional opportunities to create positive change and enhance safety in Greater Dandenong.”
A Victoria Police spokesperson said crime in central Dandenong was at its “second-lowest level in the past decade” – only behind the “heavily Covid impacted year of 2021”.
Police were making regular, proactive patrols of busy locations, used an “expansive” CCTV network to respond to anti-social behaviour and had arrested hundreds of serious and violent youth offenders, the spokesperson said.
Dandenong MP Gabrielle Williams noted there had been two community safety forums with Victoria Police in the last few months.
“The direct operations of Victoria Police are matters for police command.
“As a local representative, I am always eager to advocate for community safety enhancements.”
Recent state grants were awarded for a security upgrade and CCTV on Hemmings Street, a ‘Youth Activating Youth’ campaign addressing the risk of carrying knives at secondary schools, and CCTV, security infrastructure and community engagement in Dandenong CBD.
Plus, there were 225 new police added to Southern Metro Region Division 3, Ms Williams said.
Greater Dandenong business director Paul Kearsley said the council had requested a “holistic review” of central Dandenong by the Department of Transport.
“The Langhorne Street bus interchange is one of the busiest bus interchanges in the south east.
“Alterations to this interchange would require significant levels of feasibility work and ultimately may result in significant compromise in terms of access to public transport and high construction costs.
“Alterations to the road and public transport network of this scale are primarily the responsibility of the Victorian Government.”
A Department of Transport and Planning spokesperson said it regularly reviewed safety across the network including bus stop access.
“(We) welcome the community’s input in making our bus network safer for everyone.”
