By ALESHA CAPONE
BRIMBANK has the top rate of drug arrests in the West – and one of the highest in the state – according to police figures.
Last week, Victoria Police released statistics to Star, detailing the rate of alleged drug offenders processed in the three financial years from 2009-2012.
In Brimbank, 2330 drug offenders were arrested.
In Maribyrnong, the second-highest municipality for drug arrests in the West, just over 1735 were detected.
Within Victoria, only the municipalities of Melbourne, Yarra and Greater Dandenong had more drug arrests than Brimbank.
Victoria Police Inspector Stephen Mutton said Brimbank police worked hard to maintain a highly-visible presence in “high-risk community locations” like train stations.
Insp Mutton said drug use could be a contributing factor to ‘volume crimes’ such as house break-ins and vehicle theft, so the high rate of Brimbank drug arrests “could be seen as positive”.
“It means we are doing a lot more work, targeting people we know are possessing drugs, because drugs have an impact on our volume crime,” he said.
An outreach worker with the 20th Man Fund, Richard Tregear, has worked in the West since the 1970s.
Last Friday, he took Star on a tour of Sunshine’s CBD after 10.30am, as small groups of people gathered to chat and drink at a few places.
“When you see people drinking in the streets at this time, you know they’re giving up heroin,” Mr Tregear said.
He said socio-economic factors and high unemployment has led to drugs becoming “more entrenched” in Brimbank across the decades, where some users now gather instead of in Maribyrnong.
“I think there has been a displacement from Maribyrnong as the place gets gentrified, and they have also spent millions of dollars for cameras at Footscray,” he said.
Mr Tregear is based at Kids Off The Kerb at 131B Hopkins St in Foostcray, where other welfare providers also operate.
Mr Tregear said Sunshine needed a similar place.
“What we need is a 131B for people around here, who life has left behind,” Mr Tregear said.
Brimbank City Council’s director of community wellbeing, Neil Whiteside, said the Brimbank Youth Services (BYS) provided support and counselling for at-risk young residents, a foot patrol and the Street Surfer bus, in partnership with police.
See www.20thman.com.au or contact Kids Off The Kerb on 9464 6677 more information.
