Wyndham’s crime spike is not as bad as it first looks, Wyndham councillor Michele Wharrie says.
A former police officer, criminologist and social worker Cr Wharrie said the “victimisation rate” – the number of crimes per 100,000 people in Wyndham – had actually decreased by 13 per cent since 2012, despite a 9.8 per cent increase in the year to March 31.
She said crime statistics read differently when looking at the number of raw offences committed in Wyndham.
Recent Crime Statistics Agency data reveals crime across the city rose from 12,820 offences to 15,353 between April 1, 2015, and March 31 this year – up 19.8 per cent.
Cr Wharrie said police preferred to use the victimisation rate per 100,000 population when looking at crime trends rather than the number of raw offences, because that gave a more holistic view – particularly in growth areas such as Wyndham.
“Whenever you get new areas, you’re always going to have a crime spike,” Cr Wharrie said.
“You’ve got to look at those stats in their entirety. While assaults and robbery [offences] have increased, both may have some relationship to the increase in drug offences and offensive-conduct offences.
“But you’ve also got to look at the stats and see that, overall, the victimisation rate has gone down 13 per cent [from 2012].
“Police are out there, they’re working extremely hard to keep these rates down.”
Since March 31, police in the Westgate division, which includes the Footscray, Williamstown and Altona North stations, have worked with Wyndham’s police community safety team, burglary unit, motor vehicle crime reduction team, and uniform police to cut the crime rate.
Cr Wharrie said residents also had a role to play in their own safety.
“People do need to take care of their personal safety and pay attention to their surroundings. Personal safety is more important than material things,” she said.
