More police needed, the burning question

AS distressing as the sight was of the total loss of the Fish Creek Football Netball Clubrooms, to an arsonist’s fire was recently, it raises an even more fearful prospect.

Criminal damage and specifically, torching the scene of the crime to destroy CCTV records, fingerprints and other evidence left behind by the perpetrators could become standard practice of these, often drug-crazed, criminals.

That’s the view of Secretary of the Corner Inlet Motorcycle Club, Jeffre Klemm, and he should know.

His group’s clubhouse, in an isolated location on the Meeniyan-Promontory Road, has regularly been the target of burglars, so much so that they’ve taken to removing all maintenance equipment, including chainsaws and whipper snippers, and any other items of value to get them out of the burglars reach.

But still they come.

In the lead up to what looks to be a connected crime spree, would-be burglars hooked chains up the front gates of the motorcycle club 10 days earlier and tried to pull them down to gain access.

“They’ve wrecked the gates, but we think they might have been disturbed after that and left. But two months ago, they broke into our canteen looking for valuables, did a lot of damage but ultimately got away with a couple of Mars bars.

“These people don’t care what damage they do, we saw that at Fish Creek on the weekend, at the netball rooms during the week and at Paul Aherns Fruit Market some time ago.

“Unfortunately, crime has caught up with the rural environment and they have been causing more and more damage as they go.

“What happened at Fish Creek might just be the beginning.”

Mr Klemm said the internet-connected storage for the surveillance equipment at the Fish Creek Bowls Club, the football and netball club facilities and points around John Terrill Memorial Park were located in the football clubrooms.

“My concern now is what happened at Fish Creek will become standard practice for burglars covering their tracks.

“Once upon a time, when you drove into South Gippsland, there was a police presence at Loch, Korumburra and Leongatha along the way and you might also see the lights on at the Meeniyan Police Station, at Foster and also at Toora.

“People knew the police were around and you could get help if you needed it. Not now.

“Everyone knows the police are an hour and a half away at Wonthaggi and sometimes they’ve only got a couple of divvy vans on, covering the whole region. The crooks know it too. The word has got around that South Gippsland is an easy target.

He said clubs needed to upgrade their security but also that the shire needs to help clubs put better fences around their facilities, to at least deter access.

And the state government needs to recruit more police.

Fish Creek Football Netball Club stalwart, Lou Seuren, a former president of the club, agrees. More police are needed in country areas, he says.

“I don’t blame the police for this, they haven’t been given the support they need by the government,” said Mr Seuren.

“While they’ve been running around wasting billions on major projects and things like the Commonwealth Games, they’ve neglected the basics.”

The fire and attempted robbery at Fish Creek has been linked to break-ins at the Meeniyan IGA and the Meeniyan Bowls Club earlier in the morning, with reports that police found the TV remote from the bowls’ club’s TV at Fish Creek.

Again, they left a trail of destruction, smashing the glass fridge doors at the bowls club and supermarket, despite the fact that the doors were already open.

The incidents came two days after it was revealed that counter staff at 43 police stations in Victoria will have their hours reduced, as police are withdrawn to cover shortages elsewhere.

And follows confirmed reports in August that police officers from 98 one-person stations in small towns will be forced from their posts and rostered out to larger regional centres and cities, in a move that undermines the security of rural communities.

According to the Crime Statistics Agency the incidence of crime in South Gippsland increased by 20.5 per cent in the 12 months to June 30, 2023, with criminal damage, non-residential, non-aggravated burglaries and theft the second, third and fourth highest categories, behind breaches of family violence orders.