Young males on the run

YOUNG male motorists in Norlane are evading police at a higher rate than drivers in any other Geelong suburb, crime data shows.

And children as young as 10 have allegedly been behind the wheel and evaded police.

The number of drivers who allegedly failed to stop vehicles on police direction or request topped 276 in the Geelong region in 2016 — up from 90 the year before.

In the Surf Coast region, the offences jumped from two in 2015 to 17 in 2016.

Crime Statistics Agency data provided to the Geelong Advertiser shows alleged offences dipped in 2017 to 187 in Geelong and 10 on the Surf Coast.

Victoria Police spokeswoman Sergeant Julie-Anne Newman said reckless drivers who failed to stop on request were endangering police and the community.

“Whenever a driver fails to stop or pull over, it must be acknowledged that the driver or rider has made a conscious decision to continue on and ignore the direction of police,” Sgt Newman said.

“Often risky or dangerous driving behaviour may have preceded the attempt to intercept and then continues when the driver fails to stop, posing a risk to the general community and to other road users.”

In 2016, 63 of 276 offences occurred in Norlane — halved to 33 in 2017. Corio was the next most likely suburb for evasion offences, with 33 detected in 2016 and 30 in 2017.

In 2016, 57 of 69 people who allegedly evaded police in Geelong were men, with 13 alleged offences by teenage boys — and even some as young 10.

In 2017, 25 alleged offenders were aged 18-24, while 29 were 25 or older.

Sgt Newman said many offenders who did not stop for police were affected by drugs and alcohol or involved in other offending.

“Often motorists have been involved in other criminal offending, may be driving impaired, disqualified, unlicensed or for whatever reason shouldn’t be on the road, and at whatever cost choose to continue on,” she said.

“When foot, bike and driver traffic converge, especially in multi-use and highly populated areas, there will always be a general road safety risk.

“This risk is heightened though, when motorists try and avoid police.

“As police, if we see something that puts the community at risk we certainly intercept and or attempt to intercept, the community expects this.”