Greek Australian residents of the City of Monee Valley met recently to voice their concerns over the increase in home burglaries, car theft and violent crime in that municipality, some of which is linked to organised gangs. This meeting comes in the wake of the recent shooting of a crime suspect in Tullamarine.

“Not a day goes by when we don’t hear of a home being burgled or cars stolen in our local area,” Panagiota, a mother of two told Neos Kosmos.

“Recently, someone was beaten by a group of men in their front yard in full daylight. This used to be a very quiet area and now we are afraid to leave our homes but also afraid when we are in them.”

Mr Yiannis, a resident of the City of Moonee Valley for over forty years agrees: “We feel that our local authorities and government are failing in their basic duty to keep the streets safe. All senior Greek citizens in the area talk about is their fear of home invasion.”

A maternal and child health worker in the municipality has pointed out that such anxiety can have unforeseen consequences.

“Many of the nursing mothers we speak to tell us that they are afraid for their safety, as they are alone during the day, when most of their neighbours are at work. Caring for babies is often challenging and mothers need to be able to do it in a comfortable and safe environment.”

Residents have pointed out that, in their opinion, the local police are overwhelmed and under-resourced and are thus struggling to cope with what they consider to be the marked increase in crime.

“In the case of the theft of my car,” one resident complained, “the police didn’t have the time to come and see me. Instead, I was expected to make my report over the phone.”

Victoria Police chaplain and priest of the Greek Orthodox Parish of St Demetrios in Ascot Vale, Father Emmanuel Lykopandis, applauded the efforts of police in trying to address community fears and cope with increased reports of crime.

“These are dedicated officers who are trying their utmost to do their job,” he stated, “and they are making a difference, with the number of arrests increasing.”

However, Father Emmanuel also commented that a failure to address the concerns of local residents with regard to their safety could have unforeseen social consequences.

“Many of my parishioners, but especially stay-at-mothers and the elderly feel, unsafe. I would go so far as to say they are terrorised by the thought that something can happen to them, because there is this feeling out there that there is a crime wave that is out of control and that the authorities are not able to do anything about it. The temptation among some is to stigmatise certain ethnic or social groups who are considered to be directly involved in the criminal activity. This can lead to racism and divisiveness, and this is something we definitely want to avoid.”

Ben Carroll, state Labor member for Niddrie, stated that “the state government is providing more resources to Victoria Police than ever before. More than $3 billion in the past two budgets”.

He also pointed out the state government has introduced legislation to create tough new offences for carjacking and home invasion, including tough new penalties and statutory minimum sentences for aggravated carjacking and aggravated home invasion.

In the meantime, several prominent Greek Australian residents of the City of Moonee Valley are considering the possibility of forming an action group of residents in order to seek a specific and localised crime prevention and action plan from the state and municipal authorities.