Police to Reclaim Melbourne Streets

The thinking person has to ask the question........ where exactly are these 50 police being sourced from ?

Crime in and around the CBD continues out of control;

17.5 % rise in assaults in the CBD over the past year.

Assaults up 23.3 % over the past 4 years.

"Touchy Feely" and "PR driven" policing has a certain place in law enforcement.
But when it is time to "roll up the sleeves" and get "hands on" about a problem....... non-confrontational methods just don't work.

CBD Assaults can be considered a problem. A real big problem......

Victoria is paying the price for "hands off policing" and inaction.

And like most problems........ now that it has been neglected, it will take a long time to correct it.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22533110-661,00.html

VICTORIA'S new 50-strong police taskforce will hit Melbourne's streets tonight in a campaign to stem the city's rising tide of violence.

The fightback follows police crime figures that revealed 2064 assaults were reported around the CBD last year – a 23.3 per cent jump in four years.

Analysis of the figures by the Herald Sun shows the number of assault victims is rising citywide.

The western suburbs suffered the worst rise: 589 people were assaulted in the Melton municipality last year, up 99.7 per cent in four years. Nineteen of 31 city municipalities have seen greater increases in assaults than has Melbourne.But police and the Government said the taskforce could be deployed anywhere it was needed.

The Government said the overall crime rate had fallen for the sixth straight year, and was now 23.5 per cent lower than in 2000-01.

But police and the Government have expressed disappointment at the level of violence: a record 30,020 people were assaulted last year.

Analysis of Victoria Police annual crime statistics for the past four years shows Brimbank, in the west, suffered the second-highest increase in assaults, rising to 1099 victims last financial year – a 79.6 per cent increase in four years.

Cardinia (378 assault victims, a 72.6 per cent rise) and Casey (1358 victims, a 64.4 per cent rise) in the southeast were next worst.

Only a handful of inner and eastern suburbs showed rises in assaults of less than 10 per cent.

Figures show that last year, family or domestic violence fell slightly, to 7288 crimes, a 2.7 per cent decrease in 12 months. Non-family violence, such as street assaults or assaults at nightclubs, grew by 10.1 per cent to 23,732.

Five municipalities experienced small decreases in assaults last year: Boroondara, Whitehorse, Maroondah, Manningham and Yarra Ranges.

Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu said many areas had worse problems than Melbourne.
"These statistics speak for themselves: there is a serious problem with violence in Melbourne, but it is not confined to any one part of the city," he said.

"Assaults in Melton, Brimbank, Cardinia, Casey, Wyndham, Bayside and Whittlesea have risen by over 50 per cent over the same period.

"If the CBD needs a 10 per cent increase in the number of officers on duty because of rising violence, then surely the other 19 metro municipalities deserve their 10 per cent increase in frontline officers as well," he said.

"At the very least, the people of Melbourne deserve a guarantee the CBD taskforce officers will not be taken from their suburb," Mr Baillieu said.

Police Minister Bob Cameron's spokesman, Alex Twomey, said crime rates were at their lowest levels since 1993.

"While the overall drop in crime is pleasing, the rise in assaults is concerning," he said.

"There are several factors involved, including better reporting of family violence incidents, which is encouraging," he said.

"There is also a trend of violence around entertainment precincts."

Mr Twomey said the Government would legislate to give police power to shut down nightclubs immediately for 24 hours if violence was occurring or public safety was threatened, and ban troublemakers from entertainment precincts for 24 hours.

Courts would also be able to issue exclusion orders of up to 12 months for repeat offenders.

Mr Twomey said the taskforce could be deployed to other suburbs or regional areas if required.

Assistant Commissioner Sandra Nicholson said a statewide program was being developed to decrease assaults.

"We are obviously disappointed with the increase in reported assaults in the '06-07 crime figures," Ms Nicholson said.

She said the program would focus on alcohol, drugs, and the violence and property damage they led to.

"It is important to note we think the assaults are not only occurring around licensed premises but also in residential premises," Ms Nicholson said.

"That's not necessarily indicative of any increase in family violence, but we need to be conscious of assaults that are occurring at parties at private residences," she said.

Ms Nicholson said police were working closely with local councils, the security industry, operators of licensed venues and sporting clubs to make the streets safer.

"One of the examples of this intelligence-based, evidence-led approach is Operation Nightlife at Geelong, which has been occurring around the entertainment precinct and has reduced assaults by just under 50 per cent since it started," she said.