AN upcoming Victoria Police Neighbourhood Policing Forum will be exploring issues of concern around Local Police Service Areas (PSA) for a safer Victoria.
Local services and community members are encouraged to attend the online Mitchell PSA forum; it incorporates Mitchell and Strathbogie Shires.
Its format positions residents to meet with local experts and ask questions throughout its two-hour duration and also to hear and exchange views on crime and areas of interest including current crime trends and crime prevention strategies, family violence, road policing, drugs and drug related crime, and young people.
Acting Inspector and Mitchell Local Area Commander (LAC) Darron Huffer has worked in rural areas for most of his career with Shepparton being his station prior to moving to Kilmore.
Inspector Huffer said that crime in Mitchell has increased but it depends on how you interpret the crime.
“It is important to look a little deeper at what is driving those numbers,” he said.
“Car thefts are up, but it is not a significant increase, we have seen a small increase in vehicles stolen over the past year.
“We have more Police on patrol and this leads to more crimes being detected.
“Retail theft is up, and we attribute that to it being reported more, and as a result we are processing and prosecuting more offenders.
“Serious assaults (not Family Violence related) are down by 50 per cent and home burglaries are the second lowest level in a decade.
“Theft from cars has also dropped and this indicates that residents are heeding our message to look, lock and leave.
“We have local police members and we have a unit dedicated to prosecuting drug, cultivating and tracking offences. Less than 15 percent of crimes are committed by young people, that means that 85 per cent of crime in our area is committed by adults.
“Although the recent crime data has some positives, we are not crime free, and any crime statistics are of concern to us, our community know this. The Crime Statistics Data reflects that we are on the fringes of metropolitan Melbourne and currently we are conducting local operations regarding retail thefts with an increased Police presence.”
Local Police are also participating in the 16 days of activism campaign next month to raise awareness about respect and to say, No to violence!
The Victoria Police Neighbourhood Policing Forum will be held on Thursday, November 13 from 6pm to 8pm and registration is a must as a team’s link will be emailed to attendees on the day.
To register, visit eventbrite.com/e/mitchell-psa-neighbourhood-policing-online-forum-tickets-1677510933359?aff=oddtdtcreator
