Victoria Police’s crime-stopping operation in Dandenong wins praise from some, criticism from others

On a hot morning at Dandenong train station, a police officer holds up a man’s black puffer jacket, looking through the pockets.

“That’s a heavy jacket. It’ll keep you nice and warm,” the officer says.

The officer returns the jacket to its owner, a man in a tracksuit and baseball cap.

They don’t find anything.

The officers let the man off with a note explaining why they can stop and search him at random, without the usual requirement of a reasonable belief he is carrying a weapon.

It is part of a three-day operation in Melbourne’s outer south-east, where police have given official notice so they can conduct random searches, targeting weapons crimes.

Hundreds of people searched

Over that time, police checked more than 650 people, searched 501 of them, and charged 37 with offences, including possessing illicit drugs and weapons.

They seized more than 300 grams of illicit drugs, 23 knives and other weapons.

Acting Inspector Dean Grande said the operation was a success.

“While no amount of knives is an appropriate number, it’s good to be proactive and to be able to get these out of community harm,” he said.

Acting Inspector Grande said while the data was important, part of the operation was about just being visible.

“A high visibility ensures people … feel safe in their environment,” he said.

Acting Inspector Grande said the areas chosen were mostly shopping centres and train stations in Dandenong and Pakenham.

The latest crime data shows the criminal incident rate in Dandenong is 7,397 per 100,000, higher than the state average of 5,358 per 100,000.

The most common crimes in Dandenong are stealing from cars, criminal damage and other theft.

Lawyers concerned operation targets vulnerable people

Lawyer Gregor Husper from the Police Accountability Project said these types of police special powers went too far.

“These operations target those individuals who are already over-policed in the community, so for example, people of colour, young people, homeless people and people experiencing mental illness,” he said.

Mr Husper said police should keep a record of the perceived ethnicity of everyone they searched, so they could prove those groups were not over-represented.

He said there was no evidence this type of policing reduced crime.

“Even if the police find two knives, that just means they found two knives,” Mr Husper said.

Locals say crime has gone down, poverty a big issue

Back in Dandenong, 16-year-old Simren Kaur is working at her family’s shop selling traditional clothing in the Little India Cultural Precinct, just near the train station.

She said the area had a bad rap when it came to crime but was a lovely place to live and work.

“I don’t feel scared walking around at night or walking to the library,” she said.

“My mum gives me that freedom now, which she didn’t before.”

Ms Kaur said having an added police presence helped deter crime.

“And if anything ever happens, I know I can just call them, and I’ll be safe in no time.”

But at the Coco’s Community Connection op shop opposite Dandenong Plaza, supervisor Kay De La Rue said she was concerned having a police presence in one area just pushed people elsewhere.

Ms De La Rue said the real problem for a lot of people in Dandenong was poverty.

“We’ve got people sleeping in cars,” she said.

“We’ve got people sleeping over in fire hydrants in the shopping centres.”

Ms De La Rue said her service had seen demand for food hampers increase from two or three people every day, to nearly 20 people.

The local council is working on a strategy to reduce poverty in Dandenong, particularly given the effects of the pandemic.

Gregor Husper from the Police Accountability Project said the answer was more funding for social services.

“This isn’t a question of defunding the police,” he said.

Acting Inspector Grande said the three-day operation focused on helping mostly young people before they committed crimes, and they referred a number of young people to other community services.