By ANEEKA SIMONIS
SEXUALLY and non-sexually motivated deprivation of liberty crimes have skyrocketed in Cardinia Shire in the past year.
Abductions and related offences which include kidnapping, false imprisonment of a person increased by 228 per cent in the area between July 2014 and June 2015, with 23 offences recorded by police compared with seven in the previous 12-month period.
It brings the rate of abduction-related offences to a five-year high. The number of sex crimes committed in the area has also experienced a significant jump, up 61 per cent on last year’s offence count.
Between July 2014 and June 2015, police handed out 171 sexual offence charges compared with just over 100 in the previous year.
According to Cardinia Inspector Shane Smith, the rises in sexual-related crimes in Cardinia Shire exceed current state averages.
He suggested a range of factors contributing to the rise including increased population in the south-east and encouraged reporting.
“Increases are primarily driven by the reporting of historical matters, occurring some time ago, but only recently reported. There is also a linkage to family violence-related offending,” Insp Smith said.
“Increases in population levels is also likely to result in increases in these categories.”
He said increased levels of reporting indicated a growing confidence in the police to deal with community issues, including family violence.
“I see the increases as a reflection of the community having confidence to report these matters to police, in the knowledge these matters will be treated seriously and swiftly,” he said.
“Our commitment to tackling these issues is supported by a dedicated Family Violence Unit at the Pakenham police station, which focuses on recidivism within the family violence space.”
According to police, abduction crimes are sexually motivated unlike kidnapping and false imprisonment offences which are not motivated by sexual gain.
The statistics do not break down how many incidents were or weren’t sexually motivated.
Stalking, harassment and threatening behaviour charges took a dip, down 10 per cent with 256 recorded offences in Cardinia Shire in the year compared with 285 offences last year.
