Number of stalking incidents on rise in Blue Mountains

NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research has revealed stalking is up in the Blue Mountains and the police are blaming it on social media.

Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research figures show stalking, intimidation and harassment are rising in Blue Mountains LGA.

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Police using social media to encourage people to report crime has seen an increase in the number of stalking, intimidation and harassment offences being recorded.

According to the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR), the number of recorded stalking, intimidation and harassment incidences has risen, albeit slightly.

But the number of offences on public transport in the Blue Mountains local government area has plummeted since 2014.

So has the recorded incidences of break and enter (non-dwelling) and receiving or handling stolen goods in the Blue Mountains LGA.

Blue Mountains Police Area Command crime manager, Detective Inspector Scott McAlpine, said police from his command and Police Transport Command are more visible than ever on our trains and act as a deterrent for those wanting to offend.

Inspector Scott McAlpine (standing) reviews a map with Senior Constable Steve Day and Senior Constable Erick Denis. Picture: Matthew Sullivan

He said the rise in stalking, intimidation and harassment can be attributed to a higher number of victims of domestic violence coming forward, due to police proactively using Facebook and interacting with the public to encourage people to report these serious offences.

Det Insp McAlpine put all of these results down to “good old-fashioned” policing, including intelligence-based targeting of locations and known offenders — and expects the downward trend will continue.

Detective Inspector McAlpine said Blue Mountains Police Area Command officers treat all forms of domestic violence as serious and will always investigate these matters, to help keep victims safe.

He said the command meets every morning to review the location and types of crime that have occurred overnight.

“From these reviews, police can allocate more resources to those areas if we see it as an ongoing problem,” Det Insp McAlpine, who has been the command’s crime manager for 18 months.

“We also make sure the scenes of these incidents are fully investigated, with canvasses of the area being completed for witnesses and any available CCTV.”

Detective Inspector McAlpine said the command’s intelligence cell collates all available information, including from CCTV, to enable the identification of any possible offenders of a reported crime.

“The command targets individuals under the Suspect Target Management Plan, which is where police interact with nominated people on a regular basis in an attempt to stop them from offending,” he said.

He said major focuses of the command currently included traffic, domestic violence and graffiti.

He urged any members of the community with information to assist in identifying those responsible.

Transport regulatory offences investigated on the Blue Mountains line include when vandals ripped out every seat in this train carriage in February 2017.

What the data tells us

• For the five years to June 2019 transport regulatory offences fell by 35.1% a year on average in Blue Mountains LGA, and 55.9% for the 24 months to June 2019. There were 725 recorded incidents in the 12 months to June 2018, and 320 recorded incidents in the year to June 2019.
• For the same five-year period, break and enter (non-dwelling) and receiving or handling stolen goods incidences fell 21.1% and 25.3% a year on average. There were 48 and 24 recorded incidents, respectively, in the 12 months to June 2018.
• Home robbery has fallen by 6.8% since 2014, with 229 recorded incidents in the 12 months to June 2019, compared to 181 a year earlier.
• For the five years to June 2019, stalking, intimidation and harassment offences rose by 3.9% a year on average. There were 382 recorded incidents for the 12 months to June 2019, compared to 353 the previous year.