By Luke Voogt
Bell Post Hill’s Nick Cross has vowed to keep an eye on crime in Geelong’s north despite calling off patrols after discussions with police.
“We’ve stopped patrolling, so to speak,” he said.
“But we’re going to still look out for our neighbours and keep our own streets safe.”
The move follows a meeting with Superintendent Craig Gillard and other senior Geelong officers.
The father-of-two started a local Facebook page and began co-ordinating car patrols early last month in an effort to prevent crime in Geelong’s north.
Police advised Mr Cross that he could be held responsible if things went wrong, he said.
“The way police put it to me is if (the patrols) continue and someone gets hurt I’m liable for damages.”
Mr Cross formed the group on 2 August, he said, after finding that his house was one of seven that criminals planned to raid.
A friend overheard teenagers saying they were hitting Bell Post Hill that night at Rose Avenue shops, he said.
“They’re teenagers and they like to gloat,” he said.
Mr Cross and others discouraged the would-be robbers by “staring them down” and driving behind them.
One group member followed a car to a paddock behind McDonalds in North Geelong where they saw the occupants change its number plates, Mr Cross said.
“You put heat on them and they just piss off.”
“We called the police a number of times but it wasn’t until 5am we actually saw a divi van in Bell Post Hill.”
Mr Cross said him being labelled a vigilante was an exaggeration.
“We’re not walking around in the streets with weapons, creating noise or in big groups. We’re just concerned parents.”
Mr Cross said he had seen a noticeable drop in crime in the past month, which he attributed to his group’s efforts.
“Criminals can read and they can listen to radio stations.”
Mr Cross said police offered him a seat on the Geelong Safety Committee after he met with them on Monday.
He hoped this would give him a chance to speak out against “lenient” sentencing for convicted offenders.
“I would just be representing the everyday person,” he said.
“They’re putting the community in danger by putting these people back out into the community.”
“Hopefully, with the right pressure on the right people we can cause the change we want which is safer streets.”
However Supt Gillard said the committee would decided how Mr Cross could contribute.
“What I have done is an afforded him opportunity to present to the committee.”
Supt Gillard said he warned Mr Cross about the dangers of conducting the patrols.
“I’ve just asked him to consider his response. They are untrained, unskilled and unprepared for what may be presented to them.”
There were a number ways Mr Cross’s group could contribute to police efforts, Supt Gillard said.
This could involve Mr Cross sharing information from his online searches of suspicious number plates, he said.
“That’s something that he needs to report to police when he sees it.”
Supt Gillard rejected claims of a lack of police patrols in Geelong’s north.
“We patrol those areas quite frequently,” he said.
