Win on crime figures

WELL done Geelong police.

News that crime is down in the region for the first time in a decade is good news, indeed.

Data from the Crime Statistics Agency shows burglaries in the region are down 7.8 per cent, thefts down 15.4 per cent and arson cases down 21.5 per cent on the last financial year.

Police Minister and Bellarine MP Lisa Neville has attributed the decrease to the relentless efforts of local police, armed with new resources and capabilities.

Here at the Addy we have not been backward in speaking up when seemingly spiralling crime has created suffering and fostered fear among Geelong region residents.

We have been particularly vocal in advocating for the most elderly and vulnerable members of our community. We’ve said — loud and clear, and often on our front page — that it is not good enough for people to live in fear, or for hardworking local retailers and business people to be repeatedly faced with damaged or stolen property, as a result of growing youth crime.

So when crime statistics are trending downwards — and members of our community have less reason to fear — as a paper, we rightfully celebrate that fact.

It is important to note that the crime data does not deliver all good news, with assaults rising 16.7 per cent and drug offences 36.3 per cent.

In total there were more than 22,000 offences reported in the Geelong region over the 2016-17 financial year, and, of course, every one of those offences is an offence too many.

Minister Neville makes it clear the police force still faces major challenges in ensuring this decrease is not “a one-off decline”.

She, like the community and its voice, the Geelong Advertiser, hope it is the start of a downward trend that will continue for at least another decade. Here is hoping our police have what they need — in numbers and in powers — to start to wind back crime.

The latest crime statistics indicate a promising start has been made.