By Danielle Kutchel
Victoria Police say Covid has led to a decrease in crime in Casey, despite underwhelming headline numbers appearing to show crime in the area has gone up.
The Crime Statistics Agency released data for the year ending December 2020 on Thursday 18 March, revealing that crime was up by 3.9 per cent in Casey for that period, with 17,296 criminal incidents recorded, compared to 16,646 in 2019.
But Casey Local Area Commander Inspector Jacqueline Poida said that once Covid fines are removed from the picture, crime in Casey actually decreased by nearly 800 offences or 3.5 per cent.
“This included significant reductions in crimes against the person and property related crime reduced considerably over the course of 2020, with community movement significantly impacted by the Chief Health Officer’s directions,” Insp Poida said.
“One crime significantly impacted was robberies, which decreased in Casey by 29 per cent due to the pandemic and associated restrictions, which meant there was less opportunity for offenders to target people in public places, such as shopping centres and public transport.”
She added that decreased movement of offenders, as well as “increased guardianship of property”, also contributed to a decrease in property offencies like burglaries and vehicle thefts.
Since the easing of restrictions towards the end of last year, police have increased their proactive patrols in busy locations like shopping centres and transport hubs – an activity which Insp Poida said would be a key area of focus as community movement returns.
“We want to reassure the community that police will continue to work hard to prevent and disrupt this kind of offending.
“Based on intelligence, police will be proactively tasking officers to patrol known hotspots at key times when we know this type of offending is likely to occur.
“Police also encourage the Casey community to take the time to consider their home security arrangements as people continue to return to a more normal way of life,” Insp Poida said.
But perhaps the most shocking statistics in the Agency’s report concerned a dramatic increase in family violence in 2020.
Casey experienced a 15.2 per cent increase in family violence incidents – 5406 recorded family incidents, compared to 4691 for the same period in 2019.
Across the border in Cardinia Shire there were 1550 family incidents; in Greater Dandenong, 2818; and in Frankston, 2724.
The City of Casey’s family incident rate per 100,000 population was 1480.3 to end of December 2020, above the statewide rate of 1379.7.
This compares to 1894.9 in Frankston, 1657.8 in Dandenong and 1322.8 in Cardinia.
Insp Poida stressed that while “any increase in family violence offending is incredibly concerning to police”, Casey’s results were in line with those seen across the state.
Across Victoria, there was a 9 per cent increase in family violence incidents reported to police in 2020, with the actual average monthly numbers higher than what was forecast.
“This increase would undoubtedly have been impacted by the restrictions associated with the coronavirus pandemic however may also reflect an increased community confidence in reporting to police,” she said.
“Family Violence Investigation Unit (FVIU) detectives continue to actively monitor high-risk perpetrators and check in on victims of family violence, providing them with an opportunity to raise concerns.
“This approach was used with great success throughout 2020 as part of Operation Ribbon.
“While Operation Ribbon is officially finished, the approach used remains an integral component of our day-to-day FVIU response within Casey.”
For family violence support, please contact:
Safe Steps Victoria’s 24/7 family violence response centre
Tel: 1800 015 188 (24 hours)
Webchat: safesteps.org.au (9am – midnight Mon-Fri)
If you are in immediate danger, call Triple Zero on 000.
