Cardinia Road Station is emerging as a hotspot for youth crime and antisocial behaviour, with residents reporting intimidation, gang activity and violent assaults involving machetes.
Locals say groups of teenagers regularly gather at the station and nearby shopping precincts after school and into the night, creating an atmosphere of fear and disorder.
They have raised concerns about escalating violence and a lack of government action, calling on the Department of Education to work with Victoria Police, local councils, and community groups to improve student safety.
One victim, Pakeham resident Ewan Nicholls, was assaulted twice at the station in 2021 and 2022, with both cases ending up in court.
“The impact on me personally is to dig my heels in and not let this affect my routine life in any way,” the victim said.
“I am no less cautious, yet I have learned to observe and not challenge the intimidation some choose to exploit.”
Reflecting on the station now, Nicholls says “little has changed.”
“Having been directly affected via an assault by knife from teenagers at the Cardinia Rail Station, and living in the vicinity, I can attest to these public assembly areas being prone to intimidating and unlawful behaviour, predominantly from those under 18yrs.
“These railway stations and adjoining shopping precincts breed unacceptable behaviour in many forms particularly from youths who grow large in groups particularly after school and in the dark hours, where the troublesome 3 per cent as I call them, come out to play.”
While he supports the principle of “if you see something, say something,” Nicholls believes authorities have limited capacity to respond.
“This is where I can no longer accept government inaction anymore. Unlawful behaviour, serious or otherwise, must come with consequences,” he said.
Nicholls warned that repeated bail without consequences is fuelling crime and needs urgent reform.
“It is unacceptable to me that anyone can be given bail so many times, yet continue on with behaviour that needs to be corrected,” he said.
“My hope is that the government addresses this with urgency. I believe we must offer hope and opportunity to those that misbehave, however consequences must create the necessary deterrent. It’s important to hold juveniles accountable more so as to avoid escalation in crime.”
He proposed a community-based model for repeat youth offenders, where loss of liberty could involve supervised weekend commitments such as cleaning rubbish or graffiti.
“This need only be for say three to five hours per day. I could see the communities being respectful of this effort,” Nicholls said.
“Youths would need to comply with attendance and effort, knowing that if this is disrespected, further hours can/should be added. Failing this, liberty may/should require ongoing detention under lock and key.
“I believe this balance of hope, opportunity and consequences could encourage better decisions from young people.”
According to Crime Statistics, Pakenham led the region with 3782 criminal incidents (up from 2999), recorded for the year ending March 2025.
Victoria Police spokesperson said officers conducts regular patrols at Cardinia Road Railway Station and has PSOs on duty from 6pm until the last train every night.
“PSOs also ride the trains. We have an entire division dedicated to keeping the public transport network safe,“ spokesperson said.
“This also includes transit police, detectives and analysts who work around-the-clock. Victoria Police stages regular operations across the public transport network, including in Melbourne’s southeast, to detect anyone who chooses to carry a weapon.
“These operations send a clear message that carrying weapons will not be tolerated. We encourage anyone who experiences or witnesses unwanted sexual or anti-social behaviour on the network to text ‘STOPIT’ to 0499 455 455. In an emergency, always call Triple Zero (000).“
The Department of Education declined, stating that matters occurring outside school grounds should be directed to Victoria Police.
