Friday 18 March 2016
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GREAT DAY FOR THE IRISH: Libby, Issy, Lucas, Zoe, Max, Paddy, Archer and Sam get into theme for St Patrick’s Irish Folk Festival this Sunday. Geelong West’s St Patrick’s Primary School hosts the festival from 10am to 4pm. (Louisa Jones)
Floating tree returns after Lyons victory PAGE 9
Guns, drugs, thefts worse across region
Crime up again Cats purring in lead up to season start PAGE 35
Crime jumped 12.7 per cent across Geelong and 9.1 per cent in Surf Coast, latest Crime Statistics Agency figures reveal. Golden Plains had the region’s highest rise, 18.6 per cent, while Queenscliff was up 11.8 per cent. All four local government areas recorded increases in crime above state averages. The number of offences across Geelong increased from 18,769 in 2014 to 21,158 in 2015 for an offence
rate of 9304.7 per 100,000 residents. Offences in Surf Coast were up from 1373 in 2014 to 1498 in 2015, an offence rate of 5121 per 100,000. Golden Plains crime was up from 505 to 599 and Queenscliff from 101 to 113. The state-wide increase was 8.1 per cent. As for suburbs and towns, Geelong West recorded a 119.4 per cent rise in crime, Barwon Heads was up 31.4 per cent and Ocean Grove rose 19.8 per cent. The main crime categories on
the rise included possession and use of illegal weapons, drug dealing and trafficking, theft and family violence. Premier Daniel Andrews chose the day the figures were released to visit the Victoria Police Academy to congratulate 21 graduation police and 19 Protective Services Officers. Mr Andrews said his Labor Government had funded nearly 700 extra “police personnel” from $2.5 billion in funding for Victoria Police. “This includes $148.6 million to recruit, train and deploy 400 custo-
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dy officers in 22 police stations over the next three years,” he said. But Liberal Member for South Barwon Andrew Katos said the new crime statistics contained more bad news for the region. “The Labor Government has been in charge for the entire year of these new figures so there can no longer be any finger pointing,” he said. “We have increased thefts and burglaries, car thefts and a significant rise in drug crime. Continued page 5
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By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
1 GEELONG INDY Friday, 18 March, 2016