Sunrra meeting tonight 6.30 pm

All welcome.

Lots to discuss.

Come and discuss EPA issues in Sunshine.

I hope the Sunshine Quarry is on the Agenda.
Marilyn Canet

I think its refreshing to see the police talking so frankly about rising crime rates and the underlying causes especially since our lazy and stupid local politicians don't care.

What was that statistic? 52 police in Brighton station on a Monday afternoon, only two in Sunshine.
http://www.starnewsgroup.com.au/story/62883

Hike in crime
By Belinda Nolan


19th August 2008 11:05:13 AM

MASSIVE increases in residential burglaries and car thefts have led to a 7.6 per cent rise in crime in Brimbank over the last 12 months.

Car theft rose a staggering 25.4 per cent, residential burglaries increased by 18.7 per cent and robbery also increased by 18.1 per cent.

Theft from motor vehicles also increased by a massive 23.3 per cent.

The annual figures for Brimbank were released by Victoria Police in Werribee on Monday.

Sunshine CIU Detective Senior Sergeant Fred Grove said he was not surprised by the statistics.

He said the trend had been building for at least 18 months.

He said it was difficult to know why there had been such a significant increase in crime, but pointed to a lack of police as an underlying cause.

“For quite some time, our numbers (of members) have been lower than what our designated strength is,” he said.

“It’s also a busy area. Members are tied up for long periods of time dealing with domestic issues, something that Brimbank seems to have a disproportionate amount of, so sometimes we just can’t get the numbers to get out there.”

Almost 30 cars a day are being stolen in Victoria Police’s region 2, which covers the whole the western suburbs and south western Victoria.

The release of the statistics coincide with a number of recent high-profile incidents, including two shootings, a stabbing and a schoolyard machete attack.

Snr Sgt Grove said he believed spiralling petrol prices meant more and more people were stealing cars and number plates to use in drive-by petrol thefts.

“Part of the reason is certainly economic,” he said.

Snr Sgt Grove said Sunshine Police had adopted measures to combat the growing problem, including increased street patrols around railway stations and shopping centres, which were hotspots for car theft.

They had also started a program to fit number plates with one way screws and cars with kill switches.

He said however, crime prevention was not just a police responsibility.

“We haven’t got the police to get out there … we can only do so much. The public also have a commitment to prevent and report crime. It’s a whole community focus,” Snr Sgt Grove said.

Overall, the number of offences recorded in Brimbank for 2006/07 was 8030 compared to 8644 last financial year.

Superintendent Tim Cartwright said Victoria Police was working hard to target the sharp rise in street robberies in Melbourne’s West by doubling the size of its EMBONA Taskforce and developing a number of investigative and preventative strategies.

A classic case of two sides to each story.

Frankly my dear, wrote:
http://www.starnewsgroup.com.au/story/62883

Hike in crime
By Belinda Nolan

19th August 2008 11:05:13 AM

MASSIVE increases in residential burglaries and car thefts have led to a 7.6 per cent rise in crime in Brimbank over the last 12 months.


That's today's story. Look at yesterday's story:
http://www.police.vic.gov.au/content.asp?Document_ID=16765
Official crime statistics released
Release date: Mon 18 August 2008

Victoria Police has today released its official crime statistics which show that for the seventh consecutive year crime has decreased across Victoria. The overall crime rate has now fallen 24.5 per cent since 2000/01

“There are many areas where crime has decreased which continue to make Victoria a safe place to live in. I am proud of the achievements made by my members.”

Its all in how you 'spin' the story.

Its a game all the pollies love to play.

With Brimbank City the area of highest crime in the state outside of Melbourne CBD, and chronic understaffing of local police stations, you'd think the police would acknowledge they have a problem.

Do they? Why are they sucking up to the corrupt Brumby Government?
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24272262-2862,00.html

DISSATISFACTION within Victoria Police is so high almost 450 police have quit or retired over 18 months.

Police Association figures show 449 mostly veteran officers left the force from January last year to June this year.

Victoria Police said yesterday it had no problem retaining members.

It used to be Brimbank's biggest secret, the chronic understaffing of police in the area.

Now that it's clear this understaffing is also linked to the highest crime rate in Victoria - a pathetic neglect of decent governance that has led to bashings, murder, and robberies in Brimbank - some are acknowledging there might be a problem after all.

"Scarecrow cars" (The Advocate 2.9.08 p1) is the kind of measure you take when things are totally out of control. Instead of our senior police pulling out their fingers and DEMANDING proper resourcing of police for the area, they decide to park empty police cars in trouble spots.

Won't be long before the wheels go missing on those.

What does our chief inspector say? "Brimbank District Inspector Scott Mahoney did not return the Advocate's phone calls."

We've heard that one before too.

In a work place situation if a particular staff was injured due to lack of staffing there would be work cover all over it and company may get the whip. I wonder what would be the process if some one was assaulted, how would you go about it being due to lack of police and sue the state government in their neglect in the west on simple basic essential. After all we pay our rates and we pay our taxes……. I have an idea, how about people that live in Brimbank boundary gets to pay less tax after all we are all require to pay extra insurance when our post code is 3020…THAT WOULD GET YOU VOTES MR BRUMBY

No INSIDER Brumby and his arrogant, self-absorbed ALP machinics neither want nor need Sunshine votes. They are gods in their own minds and invincible in Sunshine. Just label a rat 'Labor' and the people will vote for them - Suleyman and David are prime examples of such rats!!

Which means that Sunshine is 'expendable' and simply does not need police resources. I think they'd say, it's no loss if Sunshine residents kill each other. Or rob each other blind, so long as they don't come near the 'nice' people of Melbourne!

A lot of reports say that policemen don't want to work in Sunshine. Why? Do they really prefer the cushy job of protecting plush Brighton properties?

Is it personally more risky for a police officer to work in Sunshine. Do the statistics show that police working in the Sunshine area are more at risk of assault or harm from the public?

Or is it merely the perception that this is a hell hole that keeps police away from coming to Sunshine?

SunRRA meeting tonight 6.30 pm.

Wednesday 4th September 2008

Harvester Meeting Room

Sunshine Library, Hampshire Road, Sunshine.

See you there!!

4th September 2008 wrote:
SunRRA meeting tonight 6.30 pm.

Wednesday 4th September 2008

Harvester Meeting Room

Sunshine Library, Hampshire Road, Sunshine.

See you there!!


HI GUYS WEDNESDAY 3rd TONIGHT

Good to see the metros picking up on local issues here, especially when those issues show up a kind of madness in all the people who run Brimbank.

The police resourcing debate is now set to escalate.

It shows you how what we think of as "normal" in Brimbank is seen as pretty extraordinary further afield.

http://www.theage.com.au/national/ghost-cops-scare-away-the-baddies

Police in Brimbank have admitted to leaving marked cars parked across the municipality to give the impression the police presence is greater than it actually is.

Police Association secretary-designate Greg Davies has branded the tactic a "Band-Aid on a hemorrhaging wound".

"It's pathetic that the Victoria Police force is reduced to that tactic," he said. "What's next - a cardboard cut-out of cars because we can't get cars?"

Well they were warned this was coming.

First here, then the local papers, today the Age and now talk back radio.

Brimbank once again the most neglected municipality in victoria.

Good job they didn't leave any of those 'scarecrow' cars near my place, might have lost a set of tyres, or even funnier,been stolen!!

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24309379-2862,00.html

LABOR has neglected most of Victoria's police stations, with less than 3 per cent receiving extra officers in the past year.

Of the 100 extra recruits promised by the Brumby Government in 2007-08, only 26 were permanently deployed as uniformed members at police stations.

Victorian Police Minister Bob Cameron was asked about the continually rising crime statistics in Brimbank and he acted like he didn't even know where it was.

Neglect, neglect and more neglect from Brumby's Labor goons.

The question from the Opposition police spokesman: "I refer the minister to the fact that in the last 12 months, the City of Brimbank has suffered an 8% increase in total crime, a 9% increase in aggravated burglary and a nearly 20% increase in robbery and I ask, does the minister agree that ... there are never enough police.. we need more on the streets out here."

We already know about the "scarecrow" police cars. We know about the 40% deficit in policing numbers in Brimbank. We know people are getting killed in Brimbank because crime is out of control and there are no resources to combat it.

We know the Labor government has put it's head in the sand.

But the unforgivable INSULT to the people of Brimbank is our good-for-nothing police minister not even mentioning Brimbank in his reply.

Adding insult to injury, he had the GALL to say that crime in Victoria had fallen.

What a foul, gloating bastard.

Or as the opposition spokesman put it, "He [police minister Cameron] didn't even acknowledge the problem. You can't fix a problem without acknowledging it."

But Cameron won't learn. You can't teach an old dog new tricks, and Cameron has to go.

Do you remember how aggravating it was in the schoolyard when a stubborn cretin kept taunting you by insisting that what you knew to be a fact was wrong? Just wasn't so. Reminds my of the hysteria our Labor government find themselves in...

Police resourcing, hmm, Victoria wide issue, you can never have enought police, therefore it's an unsolvable problem. Don't mention Brimbank, don't be specific. Fob off the questioner. Problem will go away.

Consistent pattern of abuse of public office by directing community dollars to a select few. It's all legal because the Councillors are elected. Don't mention Brimbank, the problem will go away.

Brimbank is ungovernable. No, the majaority faction say they're doing very well, thankyou. No problem, fob the questioner. Problem will go away.

Ignoring a problem just makes the end result worse.

Here's the latest from the police force about controlling alcohol fuelled violence in the CBD. Hummers, courtesy of the american military.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/09/08/2358308.htm?section=australia

Victorian police will patrol Melbourne's inner-city streets in Hummers to try to curb violence.

"We will continue to come up with innovative solutions to try and deal with what we say is a change and deteriorated behaviour of young people," he said.

"The idea of going to Hummers is that it's about trying to measure visible impact. So we've got to try and introduce something which might look different to our current fleet of vehicles."



http://www.theage.com.au/national/police-plan-hummer-patrol-for-violent-city

The weekend taskforce, which included an additional 70 officers, was unable to cope with a wave of violence, while the ambulance service struggled to respond to several sickening injuries.

The Association of Liquor Licensees Melbourne vice-president, Andrew Sumpter, scoffed at the Hummer plan, calling it a "ridiculous stunt". "Instead of wasting money on Hummers, the Government should be putting 100 extra police officers on our streets.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24316015-2862,00.html

POLICE will patrol city streets in custom-built Humvees in a bid to reduce alcohol-fuelled violence.

Police Association secretary Greg Davies said the Hummers were no substitute for greater police numbers on the street.

"It's a sad state of affairs when an assistant commissioner has to resort to using these huge trucks to give the perception of a greater police presence on the streets," he said.

"We've seen police in Brimbank using empty police vehicles parked in the street for the same reason, because there are so few numbers of police on the street."

Everyone on the bandwagon.

I see Kathryn Ericksson is trying to revive her image by jumping on the nearest bandwagon. In the local papers calling for more police in Brimbank.

Careful Kath you may become surrounded by indians heading into unknown territy as you are.