ST ALBANS traders fear armed attacks will continue until closed-circuit cameras are installed in the busy shopping centre.
A Main Road West shop attendant was taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital last Tuesday with knife wounds to his upper body following an attack by a would-be bandit.
Police arrested a St Albans man, 30, in Sunshine on Wednesday over the incident.
Eryl Dana was charged with three counts of armed robbery, theft and multiple assault charges including intentionally causing serious injury.
St Albans Traders Association secretary Asip Demiri said traders were sick of living in fear when cameras could be installed to improve their safety.
“We have been asking for these street cameras for so many years now. There’s a definite and desperate need for them,” he said.
“We’re not saying they would sort out every little issue, but it would send a clear message to someone that as they go down the street, if they are thinking of robbing someone they will be caught on camera.”
Brimbank police and the operations response unit will carry out patrols in the Brimbank area in wake of the incident.
They will step up patrols over coming weeks in an effort to reduce the incidence of robberies, burglaries and other crime.
The blitz comes as new figures reveal a spike of almost 60per cent in burglaries in Brimbank over the past 12 months.
Brimbank crime tasking unit’s Detective Sergeant Andrew Button said police would target repeat offenders.
“We are working hard to address the issue and ask the community to help us by reporting anything out of place or suspicious.”
Police will blitz the area over coming weeks.
