Emerald ‘safe’ after dark

By Tania Martin
CARDINIA’S top cop has assured hills residents that Emerald is safe after dark.
This follows reports in the Mail that some residents feared venturing into town on Friday and Saturday nights because of the presence of large groups of youths.
The Mail reported on resident concern about groups of youths running amok at times when they knew police were not on duty in Emerald.
But new District Inspector Wayne Viney has assured Emerald residents that the streets are safe and that crime is down.
Insp Viney said in the past six months there had been no street assaults in Emerald and that overall crime in the town had decreased seven per cent.
He said the only assaults reported to police were between offenders and victims known to each other.
Insp Viney said he wanted to dispel any perception that Emerald was dangerous after dark.
He told the Mail that the streets were safer now compared to this time last year.
However, Insp Viney also moved to assure residents that police were taking reports of youth misbehaviour seriously.
Insp Viney said police had scheduled a number of random night shifts over the past eight weeks in a bid to tackle problems with young people congregating on the streets.
He said police command would continue to assess the need for extra patrols.
Insp Viney said police were also working closely with the Shire of Cardinia on addressing youth issues.
He said some young people had started to take note of the extra patrols and where staying clear of the streets after dark.
He warned young people not to assume that they could predict when police would be on duty.
“We need to mix it up a bit…change our roster patterns,” he said.
Insp Viney said it was also a poor excuse to blame youths’ poor behaviour on boredom.
He said the shire was doing its best to provide activities for young people to occupy their time.
“The boredom excuse just doesn’t cut it…it’s a cop-out and they are just not willing to consider others,” Insp Viney said.
He said parents also needed to take more responsibility and know exactly where their children were, especially at night.