LOCAL police will work towards community-based solutions to key issues raised at the Wangaratta Police Service Area (PSA) neighbourhood policing forum last Thursday.
Around 60 people attended the forum, where policing of road safety, together with crime trends, family violence, youth, and drug-related crime were key areas of conversation.
Wangaratta PSA commander Inspector Ashley Mason said Wangaratta, Moira and Alpine local government areas were well represented with some “really positive feedback” to build on further initiatives police and the community can tackle together.
Victoria Police panel members presented key crime statistics over a rolling 12-month period recorded between July to June each year, with the Wangaratta PSA seeing total offences jump more than 14 per cent on last year, including a 13.3 per cent rise in family incidents. 
Insp Mason said road safety in particular was a focus of discussion due to the “tragic” year on the roads, which has seen more lives lost locally over the past financial year than the previous two combined. 
“What’s been identified is it’s not just people from outside of our area coming in and being those casualties, but it’s actually local people dying on our local roads,” he said. 
“We all need to work towards this together and that also includes changing the cultural acceptance of the community of those casual factors of road trauma. 
“That’s around speeding, impaired driving, drugs and alcohol, wearing seatbelts, an abuse of local devices causing distraction and fatigue.
“That’s something we can all do and try and influence and reduce the level of trauma experienced on our roads.” 
The Victoria Police panel also discussed the results of community sentiment surveys undertaken earlier this year, which saw residents outline possessions and drugs and alcohol along with road safety as key concerns.
Insp Mason said while local police have seen positive results in policing of drugs and alcohol locally, they have found a complacency in not properly securing property and possessions, which has contributed to the reported home safety concerns.
“Unfortunately we do have those with the intent out there who look for opportunity to commit crime and gain for themselves and what we see contribute to these home burglaries and cars being stolen is a degree of complacency around our own personal security, because we live in a safe environment,” he said. 
“We encourage people to be securing their homes, garages, sheds and cars when not in use, don’t leave personal property or valuable items within view and available for people who do have that ill intent.” 
Insp Mason said he encouraged increased levels of community attendance to public police forums to be held at least once a year to help the local force work towards “community-based solutions”.
“The objective is for us to be able to listen to our local communities for what they see as the community issues around community safety,” he said.
“There’s action we can take as an agency in enforcement action, but these issues are not issues that we can just use enforcement to solve, it takes a collaborative approach to be able to address all of these issues.”