Victoria Police stations forced to shut overnight as resources stretched to tackle youth crime

Youth crime in Victoria has hit new levels, forcing police stations to shut at night as the resources needed to tackle the scourge become greater than those needed for the Gangland War.

Police stations are closing at night as officers are diverted to tackle youth crime, with more targeting the menace than were assigned to combat Melbourne’s gangland war.

Force veterans warn the scourge is entrenched and Melbourne is “sleepwalking” into a future of residents “living in gated communities”.

More than 500 police hours a week are being consumed by specialist units proactively trying to curb the teens responsible for widespread aggravated burglaries and car thefts.

The effort to suppress the after-dark activity, which has increased significantly, is creating resourcing headaches for a range of other police sectors.

Some police fear the attitudes of young criminals they catch are entrenched. Picture: Yuri Koluzmin

Some stations have been forced shut as police respond to youth crime incidents, with one senior officer saying it was a daily struggle for most to reach minimum service standards.

Uniformed officers working outside of the special patrols are constantly sent to attend youth crime-related matters such as abandoned stolen cars and taking victims’ reports. Local crime investigation units, forensics and dog squad officers are also called in frequently.

The air wing’s helicopter unit has become a key asset, tracking offenders when road units are unable to pursue due to the high risk of smashes. The targets are often inexperienced drivers in stolen high-powered cars, sometimes filming themselves being chased.

There are 10 officer shifts devoted solely to patrolling between 7pm and 7am as part of a merged southern, eastern and northern crackdown force.

Victoria Police said that in the past 11 weeks, those officers had made 190 arrests for aggravated burglaries and car theft – leading to a 40 per cent drop in offences. They had also collared 503 offenders not connected to the youth crime issue.

Police say they cannot keep up with the surge in youth crime. Picture: Ian Currie

Despite heavy arrest numbers, some police fear offenders’ attitudes are entrenched.

“They know we’ll only chase them so far and (when caught), they’ll plead guilty and walk out,” one member said.

“We’re going to end up living in gated communities … This is happening every night. We’re sleepwalking into it.” That member said the youths came from various backgrounds and many were in state care, being looked after by case workers. “They can say ‘you’re not going out’ and they (the teens) will just say ‘get f----d’,” he said. “They just do what they want. It’s not just a cops problem.”

The officer said the impact on rostering came on top of the organisation facing a high number of departures and a struggle to find recruits.

Police remain frustrated at the rate of crimes committed after offenders gain entry to houses through unlocked doors and windows. Figures from the Glen Eira, Bayside and Kingston municipalities in March and April revealed there was no forced entry in 70 per cent of home invasions.

Police Association secretary Wayne Gatt says broader resource shortages are ‘crippling’ members’ ability to keep stations open. Picture: David Crosling

Some police fear the youth crime menace has been around so long it is unclear what will turn it around. Aggravated burglaries by teens have now been a significant issue in suburban Melbourne since the middle of the past decade.

Police Association secretary Wayne Gatt said broader resource shortages were “crippling” members’ ability to keep stations open.

“Police stations should not ordinarily be closed and when they do this represents a reduction in services to the community,” Mr Gatt said.

“With nearly 1500 police away from work, 800 alone in unfilled vacancies, this is bound to happen. While this is unacceptable, it’s inevitable that we’re going to see police stations close at times.”

Mr Gatt said youth crime prevention, including initiatives that support young people at risk, was also crucial.

“Arresting offenders, irrespective of their age, for high-harm offending is important, but we all know that even if the matters proceed to court there is no guarantee police will not have to deal with that person again. Sadly, it is often the case that we do.

“This is why we always prefer prevention, deterrence and early intervention in the hope that the cycle of criminal offending is disrupted”.

Force veterans warn the scourge of youth crime is entrenched and Melbourne is ‘sleepwalking’ into a future of residents ‘living in gated communities’. Picture: iStock

Another seasoned officer said the main danger for the public started after a burglary was committed as the teens rocketed along freeways in their newly stolen prestige cars.

When caught, they were frequently released and offending within days, he said.

“This should not be accepted. This should not be the norm. How long do you give them to rehabilitate before they kill someone,” he said.

The officer said there were limits to what police could do and the threat of looming public sector spending cuts could worsen things.

The number of offenders in residential care was high and that it was an environment which often exposed them to bad influences, he said.

The investigator said it was not the fault of the services or their well-intentioned staff.

“The challenge for us (as a community) is to prevent them becoming criminals,” the officer said.

“The kids don’t want to be there. The system creates these crooks. We (police) can’t keep up. There is no real meaningful engagement or structure to do anything about it. Everything falls to the police.”

Senior Andrews government minister Ben Carroll said the state had always been “very supportive” of Victoria Police, including $4.5bn in investment.

“Successive chief commissioners, whatever they’ve asked for they’ve got,” he said.

“From a government point of view, we have arguably the most well resourced police (force) in Australia.

“They’ll continue to be supported. They’ll continue to get on with doing their important work.”

Mr Carroll said Victoria was recruiting regularly for more police.

“We know with a growing population (and) becoming the biggest city in Australia that frontline services, whether it be health, paramedics or police, are always front and center of our recruitment,” he said.

“We’ll continue to work with the Commonwealth as well in terms of skilled migration.”