Brimbank police have vowed to continue working with the community in the wake of a spree of home invasions last week.
Brimbank local area commander Dallas Normington said that despite a drop in aggravated burglary numbers in the past 12 months, the latest incidents served as a reminder that there is still work to be done.
“Despite these encouraging reductions in offences, we know these frightening crimes are still occurring, which is why Brimbank police are working tirelessly to patrol the community and arrest offenders,” he said.
There were three home invasions within three nights in Brimbank last week.
About 1am on Monday, four males, armed with baseball bats and crowbars, broke in through a window of a property on Exhibition Parade, Taylors Hill.
Two occupants of the house were struck to the head and left with non-life threatening injuries during the incident.
The group stole a mobile phone and car keys before fleeing the scene in a vehicle belonging to one of the house’s occupants.
They are then alleged to have been involved in an armed robbery at a fast food restaurant in Essendon later on the same morning.
A 17-year-old Taylors Hill boy and a 15-year-old Hallam boy handed themselves in to Melbourne North Police on Wednesday morning and were helping police with their inquiries.
On Tuesday morning a woman was allegedly threatened with a knife by three male intruders while she was sleeping with her child in her Albion home.
An 18-year-old Kings Park man, a 17-year-old Deer Park teen and a 16-year-old Deer Park teen were arrested the following day.
On Wednesday morning, a 94-year-old St Albans woman said she feared for her life when she was confronted by a man who was raiding her Gertrude Street home. The man, described as being tall, of thin build and wearing dark clothing, had his face covered by a hoodie. He remains at large.
Inspector Normington said tireless efforts were being put in to address violent crime in Melbourne’s west.
“For the past two years, Victoria Police has acknowledged there is a problem with youth crime across the state with a small number of offenders committing more crime,” he said.
“In Melbourne’s west, police are running Operation Regnant, which targets emerging crime trends that cause serious harm in the community.”
