Elders, police on course to cut crime Stephen Taylor steve@baysidenews.com.au
Big Bang theory: Frankston detectives examine the scene of the Skye early morning blast. Picture: Gary Sissons
Unexpected wake-up call EARLY Sunday morning is certainly not the time to explode a home-made pipe bomb in the local park. But that’s what residents living near Skye Valley Park, Santa Clara Mews, woke up to last week. Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the 6am detonation of the aerial exploding device made from PVC tubing and tape. Emergency services were called after witnesses reported the loud bang. An arson and explosives chemist attended. There was no damage to people or property but police said it could have been worse if the device had gone off later in the day as it was close to children’s play equipment. Detective Acting Sergeant Jason Hamilton-Smith, of Frankston CIU, said the plastic and metal device detonated with gunpowder caused a “significant explosion”. Debris was scattered over the park. Anyone with information is urged to
Frankston CIU of 9784 5555 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or make a confidential report at crimestoppersvic.com.au
Stalking charge A FRANKSTON South man, 32, has been remanded after being charged with attempted armed robbery and stalking after an incident in Kars St, Frankston, 9am, 16 July. The man allegedly held a knife to the throat of a 50-year-old woman and demanded her mobile phone as she walked her dog. The woman fought off the man, who ran off along Denbigh St when a passer-by stopped. Detective Senior Constable Darren Paxton, of Frankston CIU, said the stalking charge related to an earlier incident when the man allegedly followed a 27-year-old woman pushing a pram up Kars St from High St. The man had tried to strike up a conversation with the woman, walking alongside her to Nolan St.
IT’S BEEN a year, and Frankston’s Maori Elders say their street patrols are lessening crimes by young Pacific islanders. Elders’ operations manager Eva Halford said efforts by the police and Elders over the past 12 months to break down cultural barriers between “disengaged” youth – often coming to Frankston by train – had largely been effective. “When we started, the crime rates had risen 94 per cent but, since the patrols, they are down 31 per cent,” she said. “We keep in constant touch with Victoria Police and, with their help, have been able to scale down our weekend patrols over winter.” However, police say problems continue, with islanders being “over represented” in crime. A constant theme cited for youth and gang problems is the islanders’ loss of identity and cultural confusion in a country where their old ways and customs are no longer valid. Many young people are out of work or under-employed. The problems are exacerbated by hard-working parents with large families who are not around enough to provide guidance or act as suitable role models. Ms Halford said many of those targeted by the six volunteer Elders at “hotspots” such as Frankston station, CBD, shopping malls and the beach, were intoxicated or on drugs.
a good response from the kids and the Elders help police interact with them more easily.” She said an influx of other races: Samoans, Cook Islanders, Polynesians and Sudanese, would “at some stage make Frankston more like Dandenong”. Frankston Embona Detective Sergeant Marty O’Brien said increased crime rates by islanders aged 13-24 were “a huge problem” for police. “Ninety per cent of our work relates to islanders. They are over-represented,” he said. “We’ve tried everything [to work constructively with the youths] but nothing works; some come from good families but they don’t care. Many have no means of support other than their gang.” He said crime groups such as the KKK, Y2K and Apex had a “blatant disregard for the law”. “We have 15 and 17-year-olds committing armed robberies and burglaries. They have no family support and their ages mean they walk straight from court.” He said one youth was bailed by Frankston Magistrates’ Court after committing 14 armed robberies. “Why a court would even entertain the idea of bail I don’t know,” he said. “We need to get harder because it’s getting worse. Upon conviction they should be sent straight out of the country. It’s a privilege to reside here.” Details: vicmaoriwardens@gmail. com or visit Victoria Maori Wardens on Facebook.
“At first they would look at us as if to say, ‘Who do you think you are?’ she said. “We’d start to talk and get into conversations and gradually encourage them not to hang around the CBD or they would get locked up. “At first we had a lot of engagement, especially with kids from Rosebud, Mornington and Hastings. A lot of them come from Dandenong. “The Frankston patrols have been really good. But now many of those we used to see are no longer turning up. They may be incarcerated, working, or have moved on,” she said. Ms Halford said the Elders visited Frankston Children’s Court fortnightly to assist young offenders, and had extended their patrols to cover Hastings and Rosebud where Maoris and islanders were establishing themselves. Maori Elders’ secretary Helen smith, whose husband James launched the initiative at Werribee based on an established New Zealand model, said the volunteers worked in groups of three and always with a male present. “As far as we can tell we are making a difference,” she said. “The same kids are not hanging around the old areas anymore and we are gradually moving our focus to Hastings and Rosebud. “We try to get out as much as we can on our own, without police involvement, after letting them know where we will be, because we previously found the kids were running away from us if they saw the police with us.” Leading Senior Constable Andrea Kardos, of the Frankston police proactive unit, said police patrols with the Elders had been effective. “We’ve had
Special police unit to tackle in-touch crime gangs Continued from Page 1 A Hampton Park man, 24, believed to be the get-away driver, was arrested by Mornington police and, although not being charged with any offence on the night, may be charged at a later date. Frankston Embona Detective Sergeant Marty O’Brien said gangs with names such as Apex, Y2K and YKK were making life “very busy” for detectives. He said racially linked members coming to Frankston from Dandenong and Narre Warren – some aged as young as 13 – were a “huge problem”. “Crimes by these groups have risen 10-fold over the past few years,” he said. “And 90 per cent of it relates to
the Polynesians. They get straight off the plane and are straight into it. We know who they are but we can’t do much about them.” Police are frustrated by lights sentences handed down by the courts. “One guy charged with 14 counts of armed robbery was granted bail,” Detective Sergeant O’Brien said. “Why a court would even entertain the idea of bail I don’t know.” A Melbourne police taskforce formed to tackle the threat from gangs has charged more than 70 young men over a six-month crime spree, including crimes in Frankston and on the peninsula.
The youths, aged 14-24, were charged with more than 400 serious offences ranging from armed robbery to commercial burglary, car theft, driving offences and illegal gun possession. The six-month police investigation, established to target mid-level organised crime, revealed that two syndicates based in Melbourne’s northern suburbs had targeted department stores and tobacconists all the way down to Frankston. Three violent thieves, who police later identified as gang members, raided two 24-hour service stations, at Dromana and Rosebud, on 29 July. The trio, with one member aged 15, stormed counters and terrorised staff
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ceptions, petrol drive offs and armed robberies across the southern suburbs in the past few weeks. “They knew each other and were acting together; there was definitely a level of planning and organisation,” Frankston Embona Detective Sergeant Alistair Hanson said. The same gang is believed responsible for smashing up to 25 car windscreens and rear and side windows in Cheltenham. Two vandals in two cars used golf clubs and a hammer to smash the windows of cars parked in streets off Centre Dandenong Rd, causing $25,000 damage. Other cars were damaged in Armadale and Caulfield.
with an axe and a handgun in the early morning raids. CCTV footage shows them smashing glass counters, destroying computer equipment, rifling cupboards and pointing a handgun in the face of the lone attendant – before repeating the viciousness 15 minutes later at the next service station. Money and cigarettes were stolen at both premises. Six of the gang were apprehended within the week and the youngest is now out on bail. Their arrests form part of a bigger picture, with up to 25 offenders nabbed over a spate of aggravated burglaries, vandalism, thefts from and of cars, de-
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Frankston Times
7 September 2015
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