By Luke Voogt
Waurn Ponds crime has surged by 26 per cent in 12 months, according to data released by the state opposition yesterday (Thursday).
Three months of reduced counter hours at Waurn Ponds Police Station had contributed to the rise, said South Barwon MP Andrew Katos.
A resourcing shortfall was forcing the station to choose between counter services or conducting controls, he said.
“It backs up what I’ve been saying about police numbers. Crime has risen because they haven’t got the adequate manpower to man this station.”
Offences in the 3216 postcode rose to 3639 between October 2015 and September 2016, up from 2882 during the same time the previous year.
The station has trialled reducing counter hours in favour of more patrols.
Police told the Indy last week that divisional command would decide in coming weeks whether to keep the arrangement indefinitely.
But Waurn Ponds Senior Sergeant Angelo Ferrara said the latest crime rise was unrelated to the reduced hours.
“The police station has always been and will remain a 24-hour police station,” he said.
“We’re only talking about a reduction in hours for customer inquiries. By-in-large those inquiries are not urgent.”
Sen Sgt Ferrara said the reduced counter times allowed 200 hours of two-person patrols during the three-month trial.
Waurn Ponds was seventh in the state for producing briefs of evidence for court, he said.
“We catch crooks by being out on the road, not sitting behind a desk.”
The Waurn Ponds data was part of Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) Victoria’s quarterly release of crime rates across the state.
CSA figures showed crime increased 15 per cent in Geelong between October 2015 and September 2016 compared to the same time last year.
Police Minister Lisa Neville said local officers were making record arrests for high-volume crime.
“A dedicated team of police continue to investigate recidivist offenders and target known crime hotspots,” she said.
“Greater enforcement around high-volume crime and drug investigations is resulting in more arrests than ever.”
But local coalition MP Simon Ramsay labelled Geelong’s latest crime rise “disgraceful”.
“The judiciary system needs a wake-up call,” the Western Victoria MP said.
“They’re simply not listening to the community’s demands for tougher sentencing, and we’ve had a gutful of repeat offenders walking free.”
Crime decreased 2 per cent during the latest quarter, from July to September, compared with April to June.
