Thanks for logging in.

You can now click/tap WATCH to start the live stream.

Thanks for logging in.

You can now click/tap LISTEN to start the live stream.

Thanks for logging in.

You can now click/tap LATEST NEWS to start the live stream.

LISTEN
Watch
on air now

Create a 3AW account today!

You can now log in once to listen live, watch live, join competitions, enjoy exclusive 3AW content and other benefits.


Joining is free and easy.

You will soon need to register to keep streaming 3AW online. Register an account or skip for now to do it later.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

‘We have to deal in the honest facts’: Police union head says harassment and robbery are up near the safe injecting room

Tom Elliott
Article image for ‘We have to deal in the honest facts’: Police union head says harassment and robbery are up near the safe injecting room

The head of the Victorian police union says many crimes are on the rise in the vicinity of the Richmond safe injecting room, despite a drop in overall offences in the suburb.

Victoria Police command and the state government say crime is down in the area, but Police Association Secretary, Wayne Gatt, says that’s not what the data shows.

“I think the figures play out a different story, to be quite honest,” he told 3AW’s Neil Mitchell.

Mr Gatt said data used to suggest that crime is down near the injecting room is too broad.

“The difficulty we have is when statistics are put out there that are broad, that look at the whole of the Richmond area, or indeed even broader … you do see a decline, but that’s not what our members were talking about,” he said.

“We have to deal in the honest facts of the situation.”

According to police union, robbery, staking, harassment and threatening behaviour are up in the block bordered by Church Street, Highett Street, Hoddle Street and Victoria Street.

Police union data shows a 53 per cent increase in robberies in 2018-19, compared to 2017-18.

Stalking, harassment and threatening behaviour have increased by 64 per cent over the same time period, and other crimes against the person are up by 62 per cent.

Crime in the suburb as a whole, however, has dropped.

Press PLAY below for more.

 

 

 

 

Tom Elliott
Advertisement