Neighbourhood patrols will restart in Caroline Springs, with organisers claiming crime has increased, despite police reports to the contrary.
Patrols were set up several months ago after a spate of aggravated burglaries and carjackings in the area, but were stopped because of pressure from police.
But after reports as many as 30 Apex gang members and associates are due to be released from jail and detention, local patrollers Rob and Matt decided night patrols needed to start again.
The Apex gang, as it’s called, is made up of young offenders from across Melbourne, who communicate their activities via texts and social media.
“We monitor the Neighbourhood Watch pages on Facebook, and we sat back watching the crime increase [since patrols stopped],” Rob says. “We were a deterrent, there’s no doubt.
“Everybody deserves to live in peace. Why should these thugs come and take that away?”
Matt says would-be offenders don’t know who’s watching them or who’s reporting them to police.
There’s no average night for the dozens of men who are out roaming the streets, Rob says, but the patrols have been eye-opening.
“There’s always something happening – people breaking into cars, smashing windows,” Rob says. “And there are lots of kids with backpacks walking around in packs … you’re thinking ‘what are you doing out at 1am?’ … and they’re not playing Pokemon.”
While patrollers have been labelled as vigilantes, Rob says this is far from the truth.
So what do they do when they witness an offence?
“We ring triple-0 straight out – it’s pretty much on our speed dials,” Rob says. “But we also ring each other.
“If anything goes down, we’ll step in and try and stop that crime, but we mainly leave it up to police.”
Victoria Police spokeswoman Sara-Jane Delaney said there hadn’t been a crime increase in the Melton area, which includes Caroline Springs, in recent weeks.
Ms Delaney said while conducting street patrols was not illegal, subsequent offences could occur as a result of this behaviour.
