Fitzroy St St Kilda crime forum pinpoints Gatwick Hotel as cause of strip’s crime wave

ST Kilda residents say they are living in fear, with more than half of those at a packed community crime forum last night admitting to being physically assaulted around Fitzroy St.

The Gatwick Hotel is a constant source of crime, police and locals say.

DAILY exposure to violent assaults, drug use and discarded condoms and syringes has St Kilda residents fearing for their lives.

It comes as a show of hands at last night’s community safety forum revealed nearly half the attendees — about 70 — stated they had been physically assaulted around Fitzroy St, some in their own homes.

More than 150 people packed into the St Kilda Bowling Club to hear how the police would tackle rising crime in the area.

Calls to close down the Gatwick Hotel were met with cheers.

The “grotty” boarding house, arguably Melbourne’s most notorious, was labelled the “epicentre of all this trouble” by many residents and traders at the meeting.

Fitzroy St resident, Elle, called for the State Government to buy the building and redevelop it as “more appropriate” low-cost housing.

Another man said it should just be closed: “The Gatwick, there’s no doubt about it, it’s a damned disgrace,” he said.

One resident said he had spent about $100,000 to beef up security on his home amid the surge in crime.

Another lady said she spent most mornings picking up used needles, syringes and condoms from her front garden.

Michelle, who lives on Jackson St, said she was in fear when she walked down the street, having been previously assaulted.

“And recently I was followed — stalked — and I was so terrified to the point where I actually peed my pants,” she said.

But a resident of the Gatwick, Michael, said 90 per cent of the street’s crime did not stem from the notorious boarding house.

“There are old-age pensioners living there — we’ve got the whole spectrum of life in the Gatwick,” he said.

The Gatwick’s owner, Yvette Kelly, said the hotel had problems with people loitering outside causing trouble too.

“Why does everyone think it’s the Gatwick? We have a problem with people (causing trouble) outside the 7-Eleven too, they’re not our tenants,” she said.

Another resident said the council pumping money into street beautification works was “akin to putting lipstick on a pig” and did nothing to help curb crime.

Port Phillip Inspector Jason Kelly — who stepped into the top job in July — said crime on the once-popular entertainment strip had “really disturbed me”.

“Boarding houses need to be our focus and we do target them on a regular basis,” he said.

Insp Kelly said issues surrounding the Gatwick Hotel were “unacceptable”.

“If it’s unacceptable for me to walk past with my children, it’s unacceptable for you,” he said.

“(Police) have a good working relationship with the management of the Gatwick and we’re going to work with them to put some strategies in place,” he said.

Insp Kelly said he was working closely with the council to try and move the street’s newly installed CCTV cameras to a proactive model.

Seven CCTV cameras installed on trouble-plagued Fitzroy St, St Kilda

“Ideally we would have police monitoring the cameras at peak trouble times,” he said.

“It won’t be 24-7 but I’d be aiming for those peak times of Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.”

He said similar proactive models were already used in a number of places, including Geelong and Frankston.

Port Phillip Council community development director Carol Jeffs said the council would work with all relevant authorities, including police, social housing experts and the State Government, to put long-term strategies in place.

The Gatwick’s owners have been attempting to sell the property since last year, reportedly with a hefty asking price of up to $14 million.