Local police are satisfied with the results of a month-long operation aiming to catch and reduce crime in Brimbank and Melton.
In part two of Operation Cavalcade, local police teamed up with a range of specialist police to saturate hot spot areas in Brimbank and Melton throughout July.
Officers honed in on busy community locations including Watergardens and Woodgrove shopping centres, as well as parks and train stations in Sunshine, Melton and St Albans.
Three teenagers who allegedly evaded police in an unregistered vehicle were among the 30 arrested during an operation targeting serious and violent crime in the western suburbs.
During patrols on July 11, officers attempted to intercept an allegedly unregistered vehicle on Bulmans Road in Melton, but the vehicle allegedly sped off.
Air wing tracked the vehicle to an address in Brookfield and three boys, two aged 15 and a 16-year-old, allegedly fled on foot.
All three were arrested a short time later without incident.
Earlier that day, police were patrolling a shopping centre in Melton West when they received reports of a boy allegedly threatening people with a weapon.
Officers quickly responded and arrested 14-year-old boy before seizing a knife. No one was injured during the incident.
Throughout the operation, the local crime reduction team carried out a range of proactive enforcement activities to ensure accountability of known offenders, including conducting bail compliance checks, firearm prohibition order compliance checks and executing outstanding warrants.
Police also patrolled the roads, checking more than 1000 vehicles, and issued more than 20 penalty notices for a range of traffic offences.
Brimbank Tasking and Coordination Acting Inspector Nick Di-Mieri said he felt the increased number of officers in hot spots worked well.
“Our highly visible and proactive presence certainly worked to deter crime at our most busy community locations,” he said.
“We know how much the community appreciates seeing us at their shopping centres and train stations, so rest assured that presence will continue.
“We will continue to work with specialist police including PORT [Public Order Response Team] to deter crime and make sure our community feels safe.
“We hope the message is now loud and clear – if you seek to cause harm or trouble you can expect to see police and you will be held to account.”
After running in May and July, police are looking to run Cavalcade as a regular and ongoing operation.
