By Alesha Capone
MORE than 130 crimes were recorded at Werribee and Hoppers Crossing train stations during the last financial year.
On average, one crime occurred every three days across the timeframe, according to Victoria Police statistics.
Figures released to Star showed there were 74 crimes recorded at Hoppers Crossing Railway Station, car park and on the train.
This included 38 thefts from cars, nine counts of property damage, three assaults, three robberies, a sex (non rape) attack and three vehicles stolen.
Another 63 offences were committed at the train station in Werribee, with 13 assaults, 11 ‘behaviour in public’ felonies, nine counts of property damage and seven thefts among them.
There were also a handful of other crimes at Werribee station, including three drugs (possession/cultivation) felonies, a robbery and a weapons/explosives offence.
Jim Giddings, from the Wyndham Transport Advisory Group, said he believed the reason there were less crimes at Werribee was because the train station is classified as “premium” and staffed from the first service to the last.
“With such a very high number of thefts from cars (at Hoppers Crossing), there is a need for more preventative measures to be undertaken, including more surveillance cameras and more security patrols in car parks, because you can’t ask police to do everything,” he said.
Mr Giddings said the former State Government’s promise to upgrade Hoppers Crossing to premium station status was urgently needed.
Wyndham Police Inspector Bill Weatherly said officers have run “numerous operations at the stations”.
“Transit Police have an office at Werribee Police Station and do a considerable amount of work in the Werribee area,” he said.
“The frustrating issue with the theft from cars at the railway stations is that the owners still leave valuable items lying on seats in full view for everyone to see.”
Geraldine Mitchell, spokeswoman for Melbourne train operator Metro, said safety was the network’s priority.
“The combination of the targeted deployment of authorised officers, an increased presence of police on trains, greater search powers for police and better signage is helping to reduce anti-social behaviour across all forms of public transport,” she said.
“The perception of safety doesn’t always match the actual safety of our passengers and staff. Considering there’s more than 4 million passenger trips made each week across the network, the actual number of incidents is small in relation to the number of people using the system.”
