Drug den shock

By Dion Teasdale
UPPER Yarra police are targeting the behaviour of young people after the discovery of a drug den at a local primary school last week.
Police from Warburton and Yarra Junction have initiated a joint campaign aimed at reducing the number of street and traffic offences committed by young people in the area.
The commencement of the campaign, known as Operation Hush, coincides with the discovery of a drug den under a building at Millwarra Primary School’s Warburton East campus.
Students and staff at the school discovered a stockpile of homemade bongs, empty alcohol cans and cigarette butts in a storage bay under the school’s timber toilet block last Wednesday.
The discovery came a week after a historic brass bell, which had hung outside the school for close to 75 years, was stolen (see Page 3 for full story).
Millwarra Primary School principal Rob Clarke said the storage bay’s padlock and chain had been busted open, and that the incident was the latest in a string of vandalism attacks on the school.
“Young people are coming onto the school premises on weekends and during the evening when no-one is here,” he said.
“We are turning up to find (evidence) of people smoking and drinking and that our buildings have been damaged.
“Now we have discovered evidence of substance abuse on our premises and this is unacceptable.
“It is totally opposite to what the school stands for.”
Mr Clarke said he was concerned the perpetrators were putting other people’s lives at risk by using the school as a place to consume drugs and alcohol.
“Not only are they destroying our property and putting their own lives at risk, they are jeopardising the safety of others,” he said.
“Smoking bongs and cigarettes under a timber building is a fire hazard.”
Mr Clarke said he was disturbed by the gradual escalation of criminal behaviour on the school’s property outside of school hours.
“The sad thing is that this used to be a school where nothing like this ever happened,” he said.
“We are seeing a gradual change in the culture.
“We have always encouraged students to use the school grounds on weekends and during holidays, but police are telling us this will have to change.
“We are now looking at having to erect trespass signs and install a system where students will have to get permission to be on the premises after hours.”
Warburton Police Sergeant Paul Bell said Operation Hush would primarily target street and traffic offences involving drugs and alcohol, and would include increased patrolling of school premises.
“Street offences include vandalism, trespassing on school properties, drinking alcohol on the street and the possession of alcohol by underage individuals,” he said.
“A zero tolerance approach will be taken regarding all street offences and public disturbances, including party crashers and people found to be trespassing on school property.”
Sgt Bell said Operation Hush would run until Christmas and involve the deployment of additional police in both marked and unmarked cars.
He said police would patrol townships along the Warburton Highway, from Woori Yallock to Reefton, primarily in the evening hours.