The Central Victoria Proactive Policing Unit continues to provide a proactive response to a number of key community areas, including youth crime, youth offenders and victims, road trauma, family violence, crime prevention, cultural community links and general community safety. Some of their recent activity is outlined below.
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Members of the unit co-ordinate with a number of agencies in the Bendigo area that provide direct service to young people. Some young people may be coming in contact with police or are at risk of doing so. By working alongside these agencies, we can provide a co-ordinated response to youth and crime prevention issues across Bendigo and the Loddon area. Using early intervention practice is a good way to best help a young person and avoid them coming to the attention of police in a negative manner.
A member of the Proactive Unit recently gave a presentation to staff at the Bendigo Trust about issues of personal safety at work and managing challenging customer interaction. The manager who attended the session said, “We had nothing but positive comments from the staff after the meeting, saying that they felt it was very worthwhile and they got a lot out of it. It gave us all an insight as to what we might be looking for in scenarios, options on how to deal with those situations, and knowledge of our rights. There were many practical tips delivered in a concise manner that left us feeling empowered and reassured.”
Also, year 10 students of Loddon P-12 school in Dingee had a presentation on the topic of “Alcohol & Safe Partying” from our newest member, Senior Constable Vanessa Bate, who has recently joined our Proactive Unit from Melbourne.
Senior Constable Bate says, “Age-appropriate and accurate information is vital for students, so they can make safe choices for themselves and support friends if they get into trouble. Alcohol causes more harm in communities than any other drug and the more we can inform our emerging young adults about how to protect themselves in the future, the better.” Senior Constable Bate is a welcome addition to the unit.
I would also like to acknowledge the work of Senior Constable Marg Fitzpatrick and the Proactive Unit’s Commander Sergeant Marg Singe, who is well known across central Victoria for her work in proactive policing and family violence and in organising White Ribbon Day events.
Crime prevention is an important role of the Proactive Unit. There has been a recent increase in thefts from cars. Property is still being left in unlocked cars making it easy for criminals. Number plates are also an attractive item, with six thefts reported in Bendigo last week. Stolen plates are often used in other offences such as theft of petrol and on unregistered or stolen vehicles, and sometimes fitted to vehicles used in serious offences. Having your number plates stolen is a significant inconvenience and simple measures can be taken to avoid becoming a victim. Anti-theft screws, which can be purchased at most hardware stores and inserted with a normal screwdriver, are difficult to remove without a specialised tool.