Family tradition of crime

Generations of repeat offenders in Corio and Norlane

AT LEAST 15 families entrenched in repeat criminal behaviour are living in Corio and Norlane, a senior police officer says.

The officer, who has decades of experience in Geelong, said second and even third generations of these families have faced court in Geelong for serious offences.

“It is definitely a problem. It’s happening time and time again,” the officer said. “We can’t seem to intervene and get the kids out of the same system more serious now (compared to previous generations), we are just made more aware of them through CCTV footage and every second person has a phone to record what’s happening. We as police are getting more evidence of the offences.”

The officer said intergenerational crime was not a problem confined only to Corio and Norlane, stating “if we went to Whittington and Newcomb we could find the same thing”.

The officer said Department of Health and Human Services housing and youth detention was at times a breeding ground for criminal behaviour.

“A bugbear of Victoria Police is kids get put into the DHHS system and into a home. There they meet people who have been in the system two or three years and they learn how to commit more crime. If we could have 15 of our recidivist youth offenders locked up, the crime rate would drop. It really would drop.”

Salvation Army Corio manager Victor Pitman-Jones said integration between all levels of education from birth to secure employment was needed in Corio and Norlane.

“We need better integration from birth to finishing high school and getting people job ready and into work,” Mr Victor Pitman-Jones said last week.

North Shore Football Club senior coach Mark McDowell said: “We need meaningful career opportunities. I just don’t get why kids in the north can’t get into apprenticeships. There needs to be a commitment from government to fund them.”