By Charlene Gatt
A CONCERTED police effort, led by the Embona Taskforce, has seen the number of offenders charged in Brimbank skyrocket from 28.2 per cent last year to more than 42.9 per cent in 2008-2009.
The spike in charges laid by police has helped to drive down crime, with assault cases in the West increasing by just 3.5 per cent over 2008-2009, compared to a 25 per cent rise in 2007-2008.
“Although we’re still having an increase in robberies, it’s only three per cent up as opposed to the previous year,” Embona head Detective Senior Sergeant Dave Byrt said.
“We’re effectively plateauing it out, and we believe that with continued effort the next move is for it to start heading down, so that our overall numbers of offences will drop.”
Its presence has been felt across the West, with an overall clearance rate of 49.5 per cent, up from 34.6 per cent last year. Clearances – or reported offences that have led to charges being laid – per municipality have increased between 13.2 to 43.3 percentage points with increases in Wyndham (up from 32 per cent to 70.8 per cent), Maribyrnong (from 38 per cent to 81.3 per cent), Hobsons Bay (from 41 per cent to 54.2 per cent) and Melton (from 68.4 per cent to 83.1 per cent).
“We’ve had quite a massive turnaround. These figures are unheard of in any crime division,” Det Snr Sgt Byrt said.
The Embona taskforce beefed up its numbers in October last year to combat a marked increase in armed robbery offences. The bulk of assaults remain aggravated robberies, with offenders commonly stealing electronic gadgets such as iPods and mobile phones.
Caucasian people continue to be the number one victim group, despite many Indian migrants and students being attacked over the past 18 months. The taskforce sourced officers from Keilor Downs, Sunshine, Footscray, Werribee and Altona North police stations to double its size.
