St Kilda locals call for crackdown on ‘rampant’ drug dealing, public drug use and break-ins
Business owners and residents of Melbourne’s inner seaside suburb, St Kilda, are pleading for police and local council to thwart prolific drug-related crime.
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Desperate St Kilda residents say the police and local council have ignored their pleas to control recent spates of “rampant” drug dealing, break-ins and public drug use.
Business owners and people living in properties in the heart of St Kilda have reported a spike in crime despite recent efforts by police to thwart drug-dealing operations and anti-social behaviour.
Investigators have this year so far arrested eight people over drug-related crimes in St Kilda, seizing almost $60,000 worth of illegal drugs including cocaine, methylamphetamine and heroin.
The Herald Sun in November revealed the properties that were a “cesspit for drug dealing” that made locals fear for their safety, which resulted in Victoria Police ramping up Operation Spartan, designed to target crime in St Kilda, for a short time.
But traders and families say the increased police presence in November only temporarily deterred drug dealers and users, before they resumed selling illicit substances from residential properties and public spaces.
They believe their reports to local police detailing “terrifying” attacks, vandalism and “career criminals” operating drug dens out of notoriously troubled apartment complexes have since fallen on deaf ears.
One long-time resident, who asked not to be named, said he no longer took his two young children to play at the nearby park because he had witnessed multiple people dealing and injecting drugs there.
“I’m at the end of my tether,” he said.
“I have probably made dozens of reports to the police but nothing gets done.”
The most recent Crime Statistics Agency data, released on Thursday, show that drug trafficking offences in the area spiked by 33 per cent last year compared to 2021.
In that time, there were 443 drug overall drug offences, compared to 351 in the previous year.
Port Phillip Local Area Commander Acting Inspector Anthony Town said this was a result of tip-offs from residents and proactive investigations into drug-related crime.
“Last year, local police made 26 per cent more drug related arrests in St Kilda than in 2021. This included a 48 per cent increase in drug trafficking arrests and a 20 per cent increase in drug possession offences,” he said.
“It is a top priority of police to ensure that our community not only are safe but importantly, feel safe. As such, we will continue to doggedly target street-level drug crime.”
The council has installed additional CCTV cameras in “problem areas” such as Fitzroy St.
But this week, the Herald Sun witnessed people who appeared to be drug-affected injecting needles at a park near Carlisle St, just metres away from a public playground with young children and their parents.
One woman reported that a drug-affected man attempted to attack her as she walked to her car on Carlisle St on Friday.
On Thursday last week, an offender broke into a business on Barkly St.
A resident last week was woken about 3am by an unknown intruder attempting to break into her ground floor apartment.
Police last month raided a property on Octavia St, during which several occupants were removed and questioned by investigators.
Alleged squatters soon returned to the apartment complex and have since been spotted selling and using drugs.
Port Phillip Council Mayor Heather Cunsolo said the council took threatening behaviour and illegal drug taking “very seriously” working closely with Victoria Police to stamp out the issues and calling for the police presence in the area to be ramped up.
“This is something we know our community, including traders, is keen to happen regularly,” she said.
“This holistic approach includes daily patrols of our high streets, foreshore and parks by our City Amenity and Local Laws Officers.
Ms Cunsolo said drug and alcohol addiction, mental health and homelessness drove some of the concerning behaviour.
Operation Spartan is now run under Port Phillip’s Neighbourhood Policing Model in which the community regularly reports safety and amenity concerns such as street level drug crime or anti-social behaviour.
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