The latest crime statistics have led residents in Casey and Cardinia to question whether police have sufficient resources to respond promptly to the rising number of offences over the past year.
Concern escalated last week following a hammer attack in Berwick, when police told victims that no nearby units were available to attend.
Police received a call about 10.05 pm on 21 June reporting that two men had damaged a car with hammers on Old Coach Road before fleeing.
As the victim confirmed there was no immediate danger, police advised them to attend a station to provide a statement and have the vehicle photographed.
The investigation is ongoing but at this stage, police believe this was a targeted incident and the parties are known to one another.
The news that “no units were available” alarmed the community more than the attack itself, with many expressing fear and frustration on social media in response to the Gazette’s coverage.
“No police available? Well that’s frightening,” Mels said.
“The law protects the criminal, not the victim,” Cherie said.
“Not safe anywhere these days, not even in your own home,” Erika said.
“Unfortunately we have to protect ourselves these days,” Julia said.
Another resident was “not surprised” by the delayed police response, sharing that it once took officers 45 minutes to arrive when an intoxicated person was banging on their front door at 1 am.
Victoria Police clarified that if the victim had been in immediate danger, officers would have attended.
“The primary reason officers did not immediately attend the scene in Berwick was due to one factor – the victim said the offender had left the area and there was no ongoing threat,” a spokesperson said.
“Police would normally attend in these circumstances, but due to the significant issues they were responding to in the evening it was not possible.
“On the evening of 21 June, between 3pm and 11pm there were 123 incidents in Casey PSA. These include multiple fatalities, including the death of a young child, a fire and multiple family violence incidents.”
Police warn that the current level of crime in our region “is unacceptable for both police and the broader community”.
“All police resources are allocated to where officers can prevent the most harm and this approach has led to a record number of arrests – almost 76,000 for the year,” the spokesperson added.
“Police across Casey and Cardinia target similar key crime themes to other units across the state, such as youth crime, family violence, and weapon related offending.
“Victoria Police continues to make significant arrests in each of these areas, including 3,300 arrests of the state’s worst young offenders, 15,500 family violence arrests, and more than 7,500 knife seizures already this year.”
Wayne Gatt, secretary of Police Association Victoria, said “the community rightly expects that police will turn out to incidents like the one we saw unfold in Berwick but you can’t send resources you don’t have”.
“The sheer fact facing our police stations, is that the front line that our community relies on and expects to respond in their time of need, is thinning and can be easily overwhelmed by demand in busy times,” he said.
“We need to arrest the attrition rate within the force that is seeing more members leave through the exit than arrive through the front gates of the Academy. We also need to ensure that our current resourcing is placed where it is needed most, in stations, where they can be deployed when and where people need them to respond.
“Outside of recruiting, our members’ time is too often cannibalised by archaic systems and processes that keep them anchored behind a desk, pushing paper rather than preventing or responding to crime.”
