A stabbing in the Footscray CBD on Friday night has intensified calls for action to curb violence, crime and anti-social behaviour in the area.
A 24-year-old man is in a serious condition in the Royal Melbourne Hospital after being stabbed and assaulted by a group of people on Albert Street at about 9.20pm on February 21.
The offenders fled the scene and are still at large as police investigate the circumstances surrounding the stabbing, the latest in a long list of incidents in central Footscray.
The latest quarterly crime statistics showed 4033 offences were recorded in Footscray in the year to September 2024, almost a thousand more than 12 months earlier.
In January, Maribyrnong council removed a playground from the Nicholson Street Mall due to feedback from local traders about the amount of drug taking and anti-social behaviour occurring there.
Now some business owners want private security guards employed to patrol the mall and surrounding streets.
“There are a lot of problems here,” said Johara Mohamed, who has owned a variety store on the corner of Nicholson and Paisley streets for the past three years.
She said safety and security in the area had declined rapidly in the past year.
“It’s getting worse day after day.
“They’re using drugs in front of the shops and we can see them injecting themselves and smoking. Sometimes they block the door and customers are too scared to come in,” said Ms Mohamed who said the offenders would disappear in the time it took for police to arrive.
Maribyrnong mayor Pradeep Tiwari said community safety was a high priority and that council was working with Victoria Police to address the problem as well as employing measures such as CCTV.
“Footscray is not immune to the challenges other areas face with cost-of-living and mental health issues for vulnerable people,” Cr Tiwari said.
“Council understands the impact homelessness and addiction can have on the broader community, including small businesses and social carers. We continue to work closely with the state government and local organisations to improve outreach services in Footscray.”
A spokesperson for Victoria Police pointed to Operation OKAMI as evidence it was tackling crime in Footscray, noting that a recent operation led to three arrests and 20 drug and weapon searches.
Footscray MP Katie Hall said she’d secured funding for co-health’s outreach service and established the Future Footscray Initiative as part of her efforts to address the problem.
”I want to assure you that these are issues I have been actively working on for several years,” she said.
