Brimbank Transit team members Constables Chris Kirkman and Paul Bate chat with a commuter at Sunshine Station. 83503 Picture: KRISTIAN SCOTT
By LAURA WAKELY
The Brimbank Transit team invited Star to board a train with them last week and see their work firsthand.
IT’S MID-AFTERNOON on Tuesday and Sergeant Tony Smith, waiting at Sunshine Station, has just met up with Transit team members Senior Constable Marc Robotham and Constables Chris Kirkman, Paul Bate and Madeleine Robertson.
The team chat to commuters and residents, many of who they know by name from regular patrols of the bus bays and underpass – a “haven for muggers” according to Sgt Smith.
Groups of young people, particularly boys, hang around the station. Most are “good as gold”, but can be intimidating in large numbers.
The team sweep the car park, looking in cars for money in ashtrays, iPod cables left plugged in and other valuables clearly visible to the opportunistic thief.
Officers take note of any car left with valuables inside; they’ll contact them later and remind them of the ‘look, lock and leave’ message.
When it comes to safety on public transport Sgt Smith says it’s all about perception.
“People’s perception is the biggest thing,” Sgt Smith said.
“To the person, that perception, that fear, is real.”
So it’s important to note that public transport in Brimbank is perceived as one of Victoria’s most unsafe systems, with only 71.3 per cent of people feeling safe during the day and only 20.2 per cent feeling safe at night on Brimbank’s public transport system.
Sgt Smith speaks highly of the roll out of Protective Service Officers (PSOs).
“The introduction of the PSOs is huge. And again, I use the word perception, of the public to see that safety,” Sgt Smith said.
The team is eager to see the next round of crime statistics, which should reveal the impact of stationing PSOs at the inner-city stations.
Brimbank, however, is unlikely to see PSOs across all its stations until 2014.
The team passes a group of six teenage boys, dressed in black and sharing cigarettes.
“G’day,” Sgt Smith smiles at them and gets a shy “hello” from the group.
“Using this gets us out of a lot of trouble,” Sgt Smith points to his mouth.
Recently, he said, police took a young man off the train for swearing and disrupting passengers.
Initially he was confrontational, but they “had a bit of a yak” and now the man always comes up and says ‘hello’ to the team.
Const Robertson sticks her head out at each station, scanning the area quickly.
The team are heading to Watergardens but try to patrol each station as often as they can.
The car parks are of particular interest – the size of the parking at Albion is an issue, as is the lack of lighting at Sunshine and St Albans.
At Watergardens, some of the members stay on the platform, greeting familiar and unfamiliar faces.
Const Robertson walks up to the overpass and looks out over the car park.
The bridge is an advantage of the design of Watergardens – only a few weeks back she spotted a would-be car thief and was able to arrest the offender in minutes.
Sgt Smith arrives on the bridge as a steady stream of school kids flow through the station.
The team keeps an eye out.
“A bit of mucking around, a bit of tomfoolery can lead to something more serious, so the presence we have helps,” he said.
With trains rushing through the station, there’s always a hazard. In the coming months the team will crack down on pedestrians crossing tracks and jumping fences.
Other than car park theft, minor offences such as smoking under cover are most common station crimes.
Over the past few months there’s been few serious incidents.
“Everyone goes into hibernation in winter,” Sgt Robertson said.
“Except us.”
