North Shore Clifton Jonas fears crime spree on Sea Breeze Pde

A North Shore man says criminals are targeting his street. Now he’s calling for police to tackle the problem before something worse happens.

Clifton Jonas says offenders have targeted his North Shore street and damaged his car and property. Picture: Brad Fleet

An elderly North Shore man fears criminals are targeting his street after his car windshield was destroyed in a group attack that saw a 14-year-old arrested.

Clifton Jonas, who has lived on Sea Breeze Parade for nearly 30 years, said he came home about 7.30pm on April 12 to find a group of youths gathered around his vehicle and the front window “smashed to pieces”.

“I had just gotten back from my fiance’s house, and I was pulling up on my bike,” he said.

“A group of four, three blokes and one female, were all gathered around my car smashing it in.

“It’s a Volvo and very expensive to fix. I’ll be about $10,000 out of pocket now.”

Mr Jonas, who is in his 70s and was convicted and fined for a dangerous driving offence in 2023, said when he yelled at the group to leave they simply ran across the road and continued yelling profanities at him from down the street.

A Victoria Police spokesman said officers were called to reports of people causing trouble on Sea Breeze Parade in North Shore on April 12.

“Patrolling officers located and spoke with three youths at the scene.” he said.

“A 14-year-old boy was arrested and is expected to be charged on summons for criminal damage.”

Mr Jonas said a few days later his neighbours reported a break-in and residents were concerned it could have been the same people.

Crime in Greater Geelong was up 11.0 per cent in 2024, according to Crime Statistics Australia, with North Shore’s neighbouring suburbs Norlane and Corio, along with Geelong, the three suburbs with the highest number of criminal incidents.

“The crime in the area, it’s out of control,” Mr Jonas said.

In 2018, a police search of the nearby area uncovered a dead person in a parked vehicle on Sea Breeze Parade.

“That was up from my place, I do a lot of walking,” Mr Jonas said.

“I’d been walking past that bloody car for weeks and then there was this smell coming from it, the station wagon.”

“I still remember it.”

Now, Mr Jonas is calling for more to be done to tackle crime in his area.

In December 2023 Mr Jonas was convicted and fined for dangerous driving in a Norlane crash that put two cyclists in hospital.

Originally published as North Shore Clifton Jonas fears crime spree on Sea Breeze Pde