Politicians and police turn focus on soaring crime at Bell St Mall

MORE cops on the beat and special operations will be used to tackle rampant crime in Melbourne’s north.

Police minister Lisa Neville with Ivanhoe MP Anthony Carbines and police at Bell St Mall. Picture: Mark Wilson

POLICE minister Lisa Neville says more cops on the beat and special operations will be used to tackle rampant crime in Heidelberg West.

Ms Neville visited the Bell St Mall with uniformed police members last Thursday to speak with traders about their concerns amid soaring crime rates in the area.

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She told Leader the illegal drinking of alcohol in the mall over the past few months was “causing concern and fear among people using the mall and shop owners”.

“Police as a result will be doing special targeted operations around that,” she said.

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Crime rose by 26 per cent in Heidelberg West in the year to December 2016, more than double the Victorian average.

Deception offences, which include the theft of credit cards and forgery, skyrocketed by 224 per cent in the area, nearly 10 times the average number recorded over the past five years.

Family violence was another driver of crime, with breaches of orders going up 68 per cent, making up nearly 15 per cent of all offences in the area.

A targeted operation in Heidelberg West this month led to the arrest of three men on weapons, theft and warrants charges.

Police also spoke to 25 people and intercepted 17 vehicles “in a bid to disrupt offending and gather intelligence relating to crime offending and drug trafficking”.

The significant increase in crime has led to calls by opposition police spokesman Edward O’Donohue to reopen the abandoned Heidelberg West Police station, now the target of vandals who continue to tag it.

And Ms Neville acknowledged that Heidelberg West residents were “fearful and want to see a bigger police presence”.

She said the former Heidelberg West police station was an old building but had asked police to develop a strategy on how to increase their presence in the area.

“We’re looking at what’s going to be the best intervention for policing that community, and that may or may not involve that particular building,” she said.

“There’s no doubt there needs to be an improvement in that community and that’s what I’m trying to achieve.”