Looking to understand community sentiment and trends when it comes to policing and crime in the Yarra Ranges, a Neighbourhood Policing Forum is scheduled for next month in Mooroolbark.
Lilydale Police Acting Senior Sergeant Luke Schroder said the forum will provide an interface between the community and police, where feedback is two-way.
“The purpose behind the forum is partly to explain current crime trends and policing trends, but it’s also to get feedback from the community about the issues that are important to them and the issues that they’re noticing as the public,” he said.
“These are the people who live and work in the community. They see a lot more than they realise, and sometimes we miss that as police because we’re focused elsewhere.
“So it’s just a good way to get a gauge on community sentiment, community feeling, issues that are important to the community that we can perhaps focus our attention on.”
The primary topics to be covered include current crime trends and crime prevention, family violence, young people, road policing, and drugs and drug-related crime.
Questions from the community on other relevant topics will also be encouraged and answered on the day. These can be submitted beforehand or asked directly in a Q and A format.
Acting Snr Sgt Schroder said while police receive individual reports about certain incidents, it’s the broader trends local police are also keen to understand.
“Sometimes we miss those trends, and people might identify a trend and they think it’s not a big deal, thinking ‘it’s just the one thing, I’m not going to report that to police’, but if they’re seeing it all the time, then it becomes a trend.
“It becomes an issue that maybe we need to address, and maybe we can try and prevent crimes from happening before they become an issue.
“It’s that proactive response to prevent the crimes from happening and prevent issues from becoming bigger than they need to be.”
With crime hitting a record high across the state, Victoria Police has set an “ambitious target of reducing serious and violent crime by five per cent each year”.
Under the guidance and leadership of Chief Commissioner Mike Bush, who, in his time as New Zealand’s police force commissioner, was able to accomplish a 20 per cent reduction in crime, he wants to see the force “challenge ourselves to police differently.”
“It’s really important we stem the tide of increasing crime in Victoria,” he told the ABC at a Police Remembrance Day press conference.
The Yarra Ranges community can help contribute to this preventative approach by sharing concerns and asking questions at the forum.
“We’re just trying to get community leaders to come out and have their say. Understand where we’re coming from, where police are coming from, and the position we’re in, what we understand, and what we’re trying to do to address these issues,” Acting Snr Sgt Schroder said.
“So if they’ve got an opportunity, send one or two representatives from each of the groups and come along.”
The forum is taking place on Wednesday 12 November from 10am to 1pm, with doors opening at 9.45am, at the Mooroolbark Bowls Club, 170 Hull Road.
Registration is a must.
To attend, send your details to: YARRARANGES-PSA-MGR@police.vic.gov.au or register online eventbrite.com/e/yarra-ranges-psa-neighbourhood-policing-forum-tickets-1584237018569
To submit a question, go to app.sli.do/event/ntxDHEsQLRAVxFfe23FYnL/live/questions
