New face to halt violence

The new officer in charge at Cranbourne police station, Senior Sergeant Bruce Kitchen, is looking forward to a fresh era of policing in the area with the completion of the state-of-the-art station in mid-July.

By Alison Noonan
DOMESTIC violence, youth and road collisions are top of the priority list for the new officer in charge at Cranbourne Police Bruce Kitchen.
Senior Sergeant Kitchen said he had identified a number of challenges facing police in the Cranbourne area since relocating from Dandenong in December.
He said finding pro-active strategies to deal with the increasing youth problem was foremost on his agenda.
“Youth in the area is one of our main concerns.
“We have just introduced a youth resource officer for the first time here in Cranbourne. We hope to use his role to create pro-active activities to help local youth,” he said.
Snr Sgt Kitchen said police were aware of residents’ concerns over young people causing trouble but dismissed claims that gang activity was rife in the area.
“The major issue is that there isn’t much for kids to do, so they are hanging around on the streets.
“The reason there is so much trouble at the McDonald’s on Camms Road is that it is pretty much the only thing open all-night of a weekend.
“However, gangs are not an issue in Cranbourne.
“We recently conducted Operation Zero to focus on trouble with youths consuming alcohol and congregating on the streets, which was very successful.”
Snr Sgt Kitchen said domestic violence accounted for more than half of the assault crimes in the region.
“Cranbourne Police have adopted a zero tolerance for reports of domestic violence.
“We hope to develop a program to educate families and also refer them to appropriate support agencies,” he said.
Better education for drivers was also important to combat the number of traffic collisions in the Western Port area, Snr Sgt Kitchen said.
“We just conducted a major operation on the Western Port Highway over a six-week period, which was extremely successful in reducing collisions down that way.
“The problem is the amount of trucks in the area so we need to educate drivers that there are heavy vehicles around.
“We will continue these types of operations in the future,” he said.
Snr Sgt Kitchen welcomed the completion of the new station in mid-July, claiming the state-of-the-art facility would strengthen policing in the area.
“It will be good for police morale and for local residents.
“We have already started getting extra members and are nearly up to recommended strength,” he said.
“This will result in a greater police presence in the area, extra patrols and a safer community.”