A neighbourhood crime forum was held in Bunjil Place on Thursday, 21 August, as residents expressed their concern about different levels of crime.
Likewise, it was an opportunity for Victoria Police to provide a comprehensive overview of key topics, such as family violence, youth crime, road safety, and key statistics in the City of Casey.
Stuart Richards, Casey’s local area commander inspector, said that holding these forums, where open conversations are encouraged and where local residents become part of the solution, “is absolutely important”.
“We see ourselves as servants of the community, and the issue we have is that a lot of the time, when people are involved with the police, they are actually victims of crime and are impacted on a personal level.
“So it’s helpful to have the people here when they could have been a victim in the past, but also to just bring things up that might have occurred then.”
Richards further emphasised the fact that open forums provide key information for residents who may not be entirely aware of what crime in their area looks like.
At the same time, officers encouraged residents throughout the night that, either during intermissions or in the final hour of the forum, to mingle, “grab a blue shirt” and have a chat.
“We know we’re not perfect, we get that, and I think the community to a certain extent accepts that as well,” Richards said.
“But we also rely on the community to make us better.”
There were just over 100 people in the gallery, consisting of residents and community organisation representatives, all eager for their voices to be heard and their questions answered.
Casey’s councillors were also in attendance, hearing questions from Cr Kim Ross on youth crime and statistics, and questions from Cr Scott Dowling on property damage, as well as burglaries and break-ins.
Mayor Stefan Koomen, alongside deputy mayor Melinda Ambros, both said that not only was the turnout amazing, but also the fact that “it’s great to give residents the opportunity to speak directly with police”.
“To talk about community, because we know it’s one of the top priorities for our local residents,” Koomen said.
Ambros added that being present, and “showing that we’re all working together is key when individual guest stakeholders come together, from the residents, to the police, to the council and members of parliament, having that sense of awareness”.
“Even some of the groups that have those connections in local communities have that chance to hear what’s going on, to get the right advice, and to know how best we can support one another,” she said.
Reflecting on the topics covered and the conversations that were had, Koomen said that working together remains a priority, and is how the “best results” can be achieved in terms of safety, cohesiveness, awareness and more.
“We have to put our resident issues forward, and that’s what we’re here to do; we also want to work with the police to see if there are opportunities for the council to be involved,” he said.
