Youth offending, family violence, road policing and general crime and drugs were the topics discussed at the Hobsons Bay Neighbourhood Policing Forum at the Williamstown Town Hall on 5 November.
In youth offending, police told the forum that the neighbouring Wyndham council area was home to approximately 40 per cent of the state’s 610 youth gang members, while in family violence 1078 incidents were detected Hobsons Bay over the past year, an increase of five per cent.
In road policing, six people lost their lives on Hobsons Bay’s roads compared to two a year earlier.
Drug possession was also up over the previous year, though drug trafficking offences were down and overall, crime in Hobsons Bay was actually below the state offence rate per 100,000 population, with 7,927 offences recorded compared to 6,400 in the previous year.
The forum followed a recent warning by police of increased scam activity in Hobsons Bay during recent months.
It is believed the scams involve offenders paying for services using stolen credit cards then attending the actual venues to cancel and asks for refunds to different cards.
Police want victims of these scams to report them at their local police station or online at: Cyber.gov.au
