The push to stop Geelong youths from falling into drug crime, as our worst offenders are revealed

Police have opened up on the techniques they expect to make drug dealer recidivism a thing of the past, tackling the issues driving them into crime. TOP 5 WORST OFFENDERS REVEALED

Police and community groups have revealed how they are engaging with Geelong youths in a bid to stop them falling into lives of drug use and crime.

A number of Geelong drug dealers have been put in prison only to be sprung by police selling narcotics again after being released.

Geelong Tasking and Coordination Manager Senior Sergeant Michael Harvey said protecting the Geelong community from drug-related crime was a key focus for police.

“We routinely monitor available intelligence to detect and deter these activities and hold drug dealers to account,” Sen-Sgt Harvey said.

“There is potential for convicted drug dealers to reoffend once they have been released from custody, as there is a risk they will fall back into the same social circles and circumstances that led to the offending in the first place.”

SEE THE LIST OF OUR WORST REPEAT OFFENDERS BELOW >>

“Police closely monitor these individuals through bail compliance checks and other intelligence obtained through various sources, in a bid to break patterns of reoffending and minimise community harm.”

He said a number of investigative police units proactively targeted drug crime.

“We are concerned that young people in our community who are exposed to illicit drug use and drug-related crime are at greater risk of falling into the same patterns of criminal behaviour,” he said.

“In Geelong, we have committed significant policing resources to building positive relationships with our vulnerable youth, including the High Risk Youth Unit, youth resource officers, youth support officers, and the Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Unit Proactive Investigation Team.

“All work collaboratively with young people and the community through schools and other agencies to ensure young people at risk are engaged as early as possible to prevent future offending and harm.”

Sen-Sgt Harvey said police have implemented a number of proactive initiatives aimed at building trust between police and young people, such as the Kokoda Youth Program, where Geelong youths were given the opportunity to walk the Kokoda Track with local police members; the Girl in Charge initiative, a nine-week netball umpiring program run in partnership between local police, Surf Coast Secondary College and other community partners; and the popular Blue Edge program at Northern Bay College, where police members participated in a range of activities with students twice a week before school.

Andy Brittain is chief executive of Geelong Youth Engagement, and a former police officer.

Geelong Youth Engagement CEO Andy Brittain. Picture: Alison Wynd

Mr Brittain said while Geelong Youth Engagement was not a drug and alcohol service provider, struggling youths presented with a range of different issues including drugs and alcohol.

For some youths who had become involved in drugs, Mr Brittain said there were “intergenerational similarities”, with drug use occurring in their household.

“It comes down to the young people have faced challenges in their life and they’re looking for some type of relief or a way to remove themselves from a situation,” he said.

“Unfortunately those people who do go ahead and try these things, because they might be vulnerable at the time they might not be able to let go of the experience and the addiction starts to set in.

“It’s really important that parents keep abreast of the peer groups their young people mix in.

“It’s very important for the parents to look for changes … in attitude, demeanour, risk taking behaviour.”

Mr Brittain said drug use had a “ripple effect”.

“You might do drugs and have some form of addiction that means you need money and in turn that can lead to crime to fund that habit,” he said.

“Crime, you can talk anything from stealing to burglaries to assaults, it can have very major ramifications.

“The end result could be many things – incarceration, death, hospitalisation.

“The effects can tear families apart.”

Mr Brittain said prevention – including education and parents being active – was incredibly powerful.

“If you find your young person has been experimenting you still have an opportunity to intervene, seek counselling and get support,” he said.

Mr Brittain said Geelong Youth Engagement had given support and mentoring to young people who had been involved in drugs and it could make a big difference.

“They have somebody who cares and make them accountable for their actions,” he said.

GEELONG REPEAT OFFENDER DRUG DEALERS

Shannon Bingham-Kenny

This Geelong drug dealer was jailed after he was busted selling large quantities of ice to undercover police.

Shannon Bingham-Kenny was sentenced at Geelong Magistrates Court last year after pleading guilty to multiple trafficking and firearm offences.

Bingham-Kenny was nabbed in a targeted police operation that involved him selling two ounces (56g) of ice to undercover officers.

Geelong man Shannon Bingham-Kenny. Picture: Facebook

Bingham-Kenny pleaded guilty to charges including trafficking ice and GHB.

The court heard he had previously been convicted of similar offences and had served multiple stints in jail.

Jamaal Lewis

Whittington man Jamaal Lewis was busted selling ice within weeks of being released from prison for the same offending.

Lewis came to police attention in May this year when officers spotted him riding an electric scooter along Wilsons Rd in Whittington.

After Lewis performed a U-turn and rode into a driveway, police followed and found the scooter abandoned.

Jamaal Lewis. Picture: Facebook

The officers went to patrol Melva Cres, located behind the driveway, where they saw Lewis running from a front yard.

He continued running, and was chased down and arrested.

Police seized his bum bag containing 8.94g of ice spread across three deal bags.

Officers also found Lewis carrying two mobile phones, a set of scales and more than $3000 cash.

The court heard Lewis was on a community correction order at the time of his arrest.

Lewis was sentenced in August to five months in jail after pleading guilty to drug trafficking.

Darryl Stretton

A Geelong dad was jailed after he was busted dealing drugs within months of being spared prison for the same crime.

Darryl Stretton was sentenced in February to a four-month jail term after pleading guilty to trafficking heroin, dealing with the proceeds of crime and other charges.

At the time of his arrest, the Thomson man was serving a community correction order that was imposed four months earlier for dealing heroin.

The court heard police believed Stretton was “heavily” involved in introducing heroin to the Geelong region.

The court heard Stretton had drug-related convictions dating to the 1990s.

Bradley Ford

Geelong bodybuilder turned drug dealer Bradley Ford was sentenced to jail earlier this year.

Judge Gavan Meredith said he believed the offending took place to help fund Ford’s addiction.

“Your abuse of drugs set the scene for your own trafficking,” he said.

Ford previously spent stints in jail for drug trafficking.

Judge Meredith said he was “cautiously optimistic” about the defendant’s prospect of rehabilitation, but the charges represented a “concerning escalation” in offending.

Bradley Ford has pleaded guilty to drug trafficking. Picture: Facebook

Ford pleaded guilty to drug charges including trafficking a commercial quantity of methamphetamine and being a prohibited person possessing a firearm.

The stash of drugs – including over 200 MDMA tablets – was discovered during a police raid of Ford’s room in 2019.

The court heard Ford had developed a “serious dependence” on methamphetamine to ease “feelings of social inadequacy”.

Alison Gibson

Alison Gibson, of Charlemont, was last year sentenced to time served and a community correction order after spending 79 days in custody.

The mum initially came to police attention when a raid at her family home uncovered drugs and more than $22,000 cash.

She was slapped with further charges in February, 2020 when police in Whittington caught her with 14g of ice, as well as $2750 cash that was stashed inside her bra.

She was later nabbed with 12½ grams of cocaine and 6.97 grams of ice spread across multiple deal bags.

Originally published as The push to stop Geelong youths from falling into drug crime, as our worst offenders are revealed