By Tanya Steele
Across the Dandenong Ranges, CCTV could have been handy in the last few years with crime rises across the outer east flowing out to the hills.
While Belgrave and Upwey have installed systems dating back to 2018, other towns in the Ranges do not, relying on local businesses instead.
Some of the crime across the area in the last few years has been related to rises in the cost of living after Covid and substantial rises in vehicle theft in particular, with arson, theft and robberies topping the list.
Transit Crime Investigation Unit detectives were still investigating the circumstances surrounding a stalking incident that occurred on the Belgrave train line on the 3 December 2024 and the Ranges was the tragic site of a homicide Belgrave in March 2024 after a man died on a Sunday afternoon. It was believed two men got into an argument at a property on Belgrave-Gembrook Road about 4.30 pm, with a 35-year-old man dying at the scene.
In the same month, an IGA supermarket in Ferntree Gully was the site of an attempted burglary, with teens allegedly attempting to steal items from the business before one of the teenagers threatened a worker with a weapon – not a new situation to the staff there, who often deal with theft in the store.
A series of alleged fast-paced ram raids and aggravated burglaries saw three males charge in the eastern suburbs on Saturday 18 May – with several service stations including ones in Tecoma and an IGA Belgrave South being hit overnight.
The alleged crimes saw several service stations and stores hit – with two underage males allegedly part of the spree.
The trend continued in June, when two teenage males were arrested in Ferntree Gully and Ringwood following a series of alleged burglaries and aggravated crimes in Upwey, the duo allegedly attempted to enter a premises in Glenfern Road overnight, where they left after being disturbed by the occupant. Afterwards on the same night they allegedly stole two sets of car keys in Mahoney St from inside the premises and two vehicles from the property. Police apprehended one offender on Glenfern Road, Upper Ferntree Gully after he had collided with a roundabout and the second was arrested after crashing in the Mullum Mullum Tunnel, Ringwood.
The Kallista township saw Yarra Ranges Eyewatch release security footage online of a man appearing to vigorously smash a number of windows and doors at a well-known cafe in the town in early July 2024, while later that month as a young woman in her 20s drove home from Knox, she had a terrifying experience on her regular commute home coming up the ‘Devil’s elbow’ of the Mount Dandenong Tourist road when a car stopped across the road and two man emerged allegedly acting suspiciously, one holding a baseball bat.
Police have been regularly asking for residents and business owners who have CCTV fitted to their property to register with them for the last few years, suggesting a growing need for the current network to get upgrades and perhaps even expansions into townships with no coverage.
