Criminals take a break says report

By Melissa Donchi
CRIME in the Yarra Ranges is on the decline with the latest State crime statistics revealing significantly reduced criminal activity.
Crimes against the person have been reduced by more than 10 per cent while drug offences and other crimes, have been reduced by 2.2 per cent and 5.8 per cent respectively.
Overall crime has dropped by 1.9 per cent in the Yarra Ranges.
But some crimes have skyrocketed, with reports of homicide increasing by almost 200 per cent.
Overall there were 12 incident of homicide in the last 12 months compared to just four incidents between 2005-06. Out of these incidents four were supposed murder charges while the other eight referred to culpable driving.
Yarra Ranges Police Service Area Manager Inspector Andrew Humberstone said culpable driving was one of the main reasons for the increase.
“If there is a dual fatality on the road and someone is charged with culpable driving it’s considered a homicide,” Insp Humberstone said.
“Someone can be charged with culpable driving for a range of reasons such as alcohol, speed or driving recklessly.”
There has also been an increase in reports of property damage, which increased by 27 per cent.
Insp Humberstone said this could be attributed to a stronger police presence and an active council.
“We encourage people to call their local police to report incidents of vandalism and other property damage,” Insp Humberstone said.
“The councils are also playing a big role in reporting things like graffiti so we can target those areas.”
Insp Humberstone said police relied on the community to keep reporting criminal activity.