Melbourne railway station crime: Dandenong retains top spot in southeast
Robberies, assaults and drug use — just a normal day at these notorious railway stations in the southeastern suburbs with new statistics revealing our most crime-riddled commuter hubs.
South East
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Dandenong railway station has taken the top spot as the most crime-riddled transport hub in Melbourne’s southeast.
The station remained the most dangerous, despite hitting a five-year low of 301 offences between April 2019 to March this year, according to the latest Crime Statistics Agency data.
Public order and security offences (109) accounted for most the most crime, crimes against the person (55) came in second, and property and deception offences (53).
The most recent RACV’s Fix My Station survey, which had more than 300 responses, revealed 64 per cent of commuters wanted an increase in PSOs to improve safety at Dandenong station.
Other trouble-plagued stations in the southeast that made the list include Frankston (164), Springvale (123), Caulfield (90), Pakenham (84), Noble Park (81), Cranbourne (57), Moorabbin (54), Westall (50) and Mordialloc (47).
The Greater Dandenong Leader visited the station last year and spoke with dozens of commuters, who said the station was plagued with security and parking issues and needed a facelift.
Robyn Westbury said the station needed to be “ripped down and rebuilt”.
“Improved lighting and more CCTV monitors for safety and the inclusion of escalators instead of the steep stairs would be fantastic,” Ms Westbury said.
“The pedestrian crossing is dangerous as the bus drivers have a belief they don’t have to give way to (people).”
Chris Gallagher said he wanted PSO patrols stepped up.
“There needs to be PSOs everywhere including on trains and buses and good lighting with cameras everywhere and no blind spots where bad stuff can happen,” Mr Gallagher said.
Public Transport Users Association spokesman Daniel Bowen said PSOs should be deployed at the most trouble-plagued stations throughout all times of the day.
“We know from past studies that a number of these incidents do occur before 6pm when PSOs may not be around,” Mr Bowen said.
He said there had been calls from the community for Dandenong station to undergo a revamp.
“Better design could help with reducing crime including improving sight lines and visibility for staff to be able to see around the station,’’ Mr Bowen said.
“It would also be beneficial to have more CCTV and brighter open spaces and to have PSOs there all day,” he said.
Greater Dandenong councillor Tim Dark said crime at Dandenong station was “extremely concerning”.
“The whole station needs to be demolished and rebuilt and there’s a lot of blind spots, which have raised serious crime concerns,” Cr Dark said.
A Victoria Police spokeswoman said as of March 2020, there had been a decrease in the total number of incidents recorded at Flinders Street, Southern Cross and Dandenong stations when compared to previous years.
Transit Safety Division Superintendent Andrew Humberstone said there would continue to be a highly visible presence at these busy stations and surrounding areas.
“In the time prior to coronavirus restrictions, major metro and suburban stations such as Flinders Street, Southern Cross and Dandenong saw large numbers of foot traffic and we tasked our officers to patrol accordingly,” Supt Humberstone said.