By Alesha Capone
A Wyndham Vale father, who is concerned about rising crime in the suburb, has launched a petition calling for a police station to built in the area.
Kanwar Singh, who started the online petition, wants a police station to be built in Wyndham Vale or Manor Lakes.
The petition has been signed by 585 people so far.
The petition, which states that the area is “ in need of a police station due to its increasing crime rate alongside its population growth”, calls on the Victorian Legislative Council to request Police and Emergency Services Minister Lisa Neville, Premier Daniel Andrews and Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton work together to build the police station.
“Compared to previous years, the crime rate in Wyndham Vale has risen by 29.8 per cent and over the next 10 years the area is expected to register as having one of the highest growing populations in Victoria,” the petition states.
“In both Wyndham Vale and Manor Lakes, thefts, assaults, burglaries and other forms of crime are on the rise with on-street crime comprising the majority of total incidents reported.”
Mr Singh said that when he moved to Wyndham Vale in 2017, he felt the suburb was safe for children – including his young daughter – to play outside in.
But an assault and robbery at a local playground two months ago sparked a conversation between his friends about how “something needed to be done”.
“The basic need is that everyone wants to be safe and we urge the government to support us by building a local station and putting more police in the area,” Mr Singh said.
“More police would also result in more peace of mind for young families.”
Mr Singh said he hoped that at least 1000 people would sign the petition and that a local politician would sponsor it in parliament.
A Victoria Police spokesperson said the community could be assured that there is “sufficient resourcing in the Wyndham area” including frontline police, highway patrols and Crime Investigation Units.
“We know it is far more effective to have our officers mobile in the community – conducting proactive patrols, investigating and attending scenes of crime – rather than sitting behind a desk at a police station,” the spokesperson said.
A state government spokesperson said:
“The Victorian Government has provided more than $45 million to build a new 24-hour Wyndham Police Complex as part of the broader Wyndham Justice Precinct – one of the largest police facilities outside Melbourne.
“The new facility will provide the hardworking police officers in the region the facilities they need to support the Wyndham community, and has been designed to support the huge population growth planned across Melbourne’s west, including Wyndham Vale and Manor Lakes.
“As part of this investment, we are recruiting 3,135 new police across the state – including 100 that have already been deployed to the Westgate Division, which includes Wyndham.”
See bit.ly/3mUDdoA for details of the petition.
