By Luke Voogt
A Current Affair has refused to apologise for labelling Geelong “ground zero” for ice, despite new statistics prepared for the Indy which contradicted the claim.
Some Victorian local governments had almost triple the methamphetamine-related offences of Geelong in 2016, according to the latest Crime Statistics Agency data.
Geelong was below the Victorian average, with101 ice use and possession offences per 100,000, compared to 300 in Ararat.
Superintendent Craig Gillard said the data painted a more accurate picture of crime in Geelong.
“Clearly this data validates what we’ve been saying for some time,” he said. “Geelong is not the ice capital of Victoria and is far from it.”
The City of Melbourne, Northern Grampians and Dandenong all recorded more than twice the number of ice offences per capita of Geelong.
In drug-affected crime, Geelong had 161 offences per 100,000, compared to 557 in the City of Melbourne and 618 in La Trobe.
The Indy requested an apology from A Current Affair and the reporter behind the segment but both declined to respond.
Last week Supt Gillard ridiculed the show’s claims.
“Geelong is not the epicentre for ice in Victoria, it’s just not,” he told the Indy.
“There’s no evidence anywhere to suggest that. You can go to areas in Melbourne and it’s far worse.”
During 2014/2015 Greater Geelong recorded 39 crystal methamphetamine-related callouts per 100,000 residents, ranking the city 20th worst out of 79 Victorian municipalities.
Melbourne, Port Phillip and Latrobe recorded 124, 97 and 96 callouts per 100,000 respectively.
Geelong’s drug use and possession offences in 2016, at 346 per 100,000, were below the Victorian average of 406.
Supt Gillard, who appeared in A Current Affair’s report on Monday night, admitted Geelong had an ice problem but denied local police were “overwhelmed”.
“Yes, we’ve got ice here because some criminals choose to ply their trade in our town,” he said.
Drug use and possession offences in Geelong doubled in the past five years but most of the charges were the result of police work, Supt Gillard said.
“They’re police detected offences. That’s an indication of where our focus is and how we’re doing our job.
“I’m really comfortable in our approach towards the distribution and use of ice, and the related offences.”
