By GEORGIA WESTGARTH
A MAN dressed in navy with silver buttons spoke openly on Wednesday evening about the struggles he and his team face every day.
He told the seated crowd of about 60: “We are in a bit of strife,” before admitting that the Casey crime rate was “through the roof”.
“Casey has the highest incidence of family violence in the State of Victoria,” he said.
Gasps from the crowd indicated their shock.
The man told the crowd that he has started to see the drug ice infiltrate local footy clubs, he said assaults had risen in Casey and that nearly 80 per cent of cars that were broken into were left unlocked, often with goods on show.
He told the residents of the Four Oaks Ward that he and his team couldn’t fix the problems they faced as a community and asked the crowd for help.
The man dressed in navy was Casey’s Inspector Paul Breen from Victoria Police and his question to the 46,000 people that live in the Four Oaks ward is: “What are you going to do about it?”
Casey’s second community safety forum held in Endeavour Hills, on Wednesday 26 August, addressed the area’s biggest concerns – drugs, alcohol and crime, with an emphasis on the community’s role in crime prevention.
Inspector Breen said Casey faced high rates of widespread burglaries, aggravated burglaries, theft from cars, theft of cars, deceptions and assaults and told the crowd he is often asked why?
“People say to me ’why is this happening Inspector, and what are you doing about it’, so I’m going to ask you the same thing – what are you going to do about it?” he said.
Pointing to drugs and alcohol as two of the key drivers of family violence, Insp Breen said: “As your local area commander I need you to start looking after your ward”.
The forum stretched over two hours with youth illicit drug expert Peter Wearne from Youth Support and Advocacy Service (YSAS) enlightening listeners on some of the reasons why young people were drawn to take drugs.
“The most common response I get from young people at YSAS when I ask them how they feel when they’re on drugs is, ‘I feel normal, I feel how I think everyone else feels’,” he said.
Mr Wearne agreed with Cr Rosalie Crestani’s nephew Justin Steckis, a former drug addict, who advised the crowd to never victimise drug users and that love was the best support.
Crime prevention strategies such as keeping your garage and car doors locked, installing a peep hole if you have no security door and leaving valuables out of sight in cars were discussed by Leading Senior Constables Brett Owen and Frank Bailey.
The next City of Casey ward forum will be held on Wednesday 30 September in the Springfield ward from 7pm to 9pm at the Empire Club, 14-22 Lauderdale Rd, Narre Warren.
