Violent home invasions have more than halved in the past four months, and aggravated burglaries by gangs of youths have all but dried up, according to Wyndham’s top cop.
Acting Inspector Peter Bitton said targeted police operations Regnant and Wayward had significantly cut the number of aggravated burglaries across Wyndham in recent months.
In particular, he said aggravated burglaries had more than halved since March when, according to the Crime Statistics Agency, 24 were recorded for the month.
Acting Inspector Bitton said police had also observed that groups of youths – who had been largely responsible for the increased aggravated burglary rate earlier this year – had not committed a home invasion since a botched attempt on April 18.
He said the rest of the offences were being caused by seasoned burglars, people under the influence of drugs and as a result of family violence.
Acting Inspector Bitton said the spate of aggravated burglaries earlier this year had caused a lot of residents to fear for their safety.
Crime statistics released earlier this year revealed a 62.4 per cent surge in aggravated burglaries across the municipality in the 12 months to March 31 – a five-year high for Wyndham.
But in the past three months, Operation Regnant has deployed extra police resources – including a police helicopter and dog squad – into overnight patrols across Wyndham, Brimbank and Melton to tackle aggravated burglaries, carjackings and related offences.
Police from the north-west metro region have also been conducting Operation Wayward, which involves investigating patterns of offending and chasing up lines of inquiry across Wyndham, Brimbank, Maribyrnong and Hobsons Bay.
Most recently, police from Operation Regnant arrested and charged four teenagers over an alleged home invasion and car theft in Melton West on July 21.
A 17-year-old Queensland male, 17-year-old St Albans male, 16-year-old Queensland male and 15-year-old Hoppers Crossing resident have been charged with aggravated burglary and theft of motor vehicle.
All but the 15-year-old have been remanded in custody. Police are still looking for a fifth offender in relation to the incident.
