By Cam Lucadou-Wells
THE region’s top cop yearns for the old days.
The days when people could leave whatever they liked in their unlocked cars. Or they could walk to the milk bar any time of the day or night without being “molested”.
Long before there was the recent explosion in violent home-invasions and car-jackings on a scale “we haven’t seen before”.
“But unfortunately those days are long gone,” Superintendent Paul Hollowood told a crowd of up to 400 residents who had banded together at Sweeney Reserve on Saturday 10 September for answers to the crime spree.
It was hard to know what was driving the young offenders, Supt Hollowood told the Casey Residents Crime Prevention Gathering.
The grass-roots event – with self-defence demos and security expert stalls – was organised by Andrew Hartley after his Narre Warren home was recently invaded by a carload of burglars.
Supt Hollowood said the offenders seemed “increasingly disengaged” from their families and culture, and coming under the sway of alcohol and drugs.
Many of them were repeat offenders, no matter how many times they were arrested and incarcerated.
“In the long run, we need to address the underlying issues.”
Supt Hollowood told Star News after the speech that some of the gang members were just “caught up” with peer influence. Most were repeat offenders.
“We’ve got to try to divert them to find some alternatives and channel them in the right direction.”
At Parkville youth detention centre, offenders were being kept busy with schooling and self-esteem programs – but those efforts fell down when they came out.
“There are programs (outside) but no incentives for them to do it.”
In the juvenile criminal system, there was more of a focus on the offender’s welfare ahead of community safety.
Given the dangerous nature of recent crimes, these factors were in a “fine balance”, Supt Hollowood said.
Since May, there had been 160 major arrests by local cops – which was some progress in dismantling the gangs, Supt Hollowood said.
Recently, police freed up more frontline tactical officers “out on the road” and formed Taskforce Tense from some of the region’s best detectives.
“But we are not going to be able to enforce our way out of it,” Supt Hollowood warned the gathering.
He urged residents to be more aware of their surroundings, have home security measures and learn to support each other in “these trying times”.
In recent weeks, the escalating crime rate, the weekend night shutdown of Endeavour Hills police station, and police numbers have been hotly debated.
Casey Council has launched an online petition and flown its council flag at half-mast in the latest of its anti-crime lobbying efforts.
Supt Hollowood told the crowd he was “fairly confident” that the State Government’s commitment to extra police would translate to more in Casey’s growth corridor.
