
By Kelly Yates
POLICE are pleased after the release of last week’s crime statistics showed a 5.9 per cent reduction in overall crime in the City of Casey over the past 12 months.
A year after taking on the top job of Casey Inspector, Andrew Miles told the News he was happy police had achieved the goal of reducing the number of serious injury collisions.
The number of robberies, assaults, residential burglaries, theft of motor vehicles and fatalities has increased in Casey.
Insp Miles said targeted patrols of “hot spots”, the effective use of crime scene officers, a number of targeted operations and the continued partnership with the City of Casey’s graffiti reduction working group had resulted in a 9.8 per cent reduction in crimes against property.
Theft of motor cars and theft from motor car offences had continued to be a challenge in the City of Casey, according to Insp Miles.
“The Casey Response Unit, in partnership with uniform members, has subsequently been rewarded with a 12.3 per cent decrease in reported theft from motor vehicle offences,” Insp Miles said.
“Theft of motor car offences remains an ongoing challenge and will be the focus of the Casey Response Unit, targeting recidivist offenders through plain clothes operations.”
Police are set to continue to focus on public order offences such as pro-active policing of licensed venues, helping to reduce the number of robberies in the area.
“A contributing factor to the increase in robberies during this period has been the number of robberies committed by multiple offenders and the subsequent investigation resulting in multiple charges against offenders for a single robbery offence,” he said.
Saturation operations, increased use of road safety cameras and increased random breath testing will support future road policing in Casey.