By Aneeka Simonis
THE family violence policing unit based in Pakenham will soon be relocated to a support super centre in Dandenong to help streamline services available to women and children.
Police have reassured residents that family violence officers will still be physically present in the Cardinia Shire area daily – and added that they will now be able to better link victims in with support services available by agencies including the Department of Health and Human Services at the new location.
The Casey and Dandenong family violence unit will also make the move to the new building.
Pakenham police Senior Sergeant Graeme Stanley said: “the teams will be working together to create a holistic view of problem areas and deal with them in a timely manner.”
A total of 148 charges have been laid against alleged family violence perpetrators in Cardinia Shire from June to November this year.
Crime statistics show police attended to 1434 family violence incidents in the 12-month period leading to June, up 8.7 per cent on incidents reported in the previous financial year.
Triple the number of family violence reports were recorded in Casey with 4370 recorded incidents, up 15.5 per cent. The Greater Dandenong area also experienced a surge of 6.1 per cent more reports with its 2245 recorded incidents.
Pakenham police Senior Sergeant Nathan Prowd has urged victims to report signs of abuse as soon as they crop up.
More importantly, he advised victims to always report intervention order breaches.
“If perpetrators ignore these conditions, their offending is more likely to escalate. It’s important all breaches are reported,” he said.
Worryingly, breaches against family violence orders – which seek to protect the victim – made up 71 per cent of all recorded family violence incidents recorded in Cardinia Shire in the 12 months to March this year.
The rate of flagged breach offences is up 16 per cent on the previous 12-month period, according to the Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) data.
Police are not publicly disclosing the location for the new south-east family violence unit to protect victims’ safety.
Caseworkers will also operate in plain clothes to avoid attention.
Anyone who is experiencing family violence can phone the safe steps 24/7 Family Violence Response Centre on 1800 015 188 or 1800 RESPECT.
