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Thursday, 22 June, 2023
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Protest pack hits Berwick
Kicking up a stink
Narre seeks new home
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SPORT
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Bunjil precinct plans
Breaking confidence barriers
A young hip-hop dancer shows off his moves during a class. 340566
Picture: GARY SISSONS
Narre Warren youngsters are having fun while staying active, as part of a local hiphop dance program attracting locals of all ages. Teacher Naomi McLeod and her daughter Ashley are leading the classes teaching children as young as two up to adult dancers. “I think the children get a lot out of it,“ she said. “I think every children needs to dance.“ Each class are also preparing to present their skills as part of an end-of-year concert performance. STORY PAGE 22
Crime on the rise By Emily Chapman Laing The latest crime statistics show a marked increase in residential aggravated burglaries in Casey over the past 12 months. Casey criminal incidents are up 9.4 per cent per capita from 2022. However this is a 5.1 per cent per capita decrease on pre-Covid levels. It is also 29.5 per cent below the per capita Victorian average. Cardinia crime is up 6.5 per cent per capita from 2022. Greater Dandenong saw a steep rise in
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ceeded pre-Covid and 2022 levels, up by 54.3 per cent since last year and by a whopping 125 per cent since 2018. In Victoria, there was a 30 per cent increase in this crime type, which Victoria Police said is driven predominantly by youths sneaking into unlocked homes to steal car keys. “What we’ve seen over time is a shift in the reason aggravated burglaries are committed,“ Victoria Police Deputy Commisioner Regional Operations Rick Nugent said. “Many years ago commonly aggravated burglaries were known to each other, drug debts, drug related, gang related.
“The shift we’ve seen is to get access to keys to top end cars.“ Deputy Commissioner Nugent said in some parts of Melbourne, up to 70 per cent of homes broken into are unlocked. “So we also implore the community to take simple measures such as looking all doors, windows, and gates to help foil opportunistic thieves,“ he said. A Victoria Police spokesperson said while overall crime across Casey increased over the past twelve months, it still remains almost 1500 offences below pre-Covid levels. Continued page 2
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crime from 2022, up by 18.6 per cent per capita. Crime Statistics Australia chief statistician Fiona Dowsley said “the upward trends observed in recorded crime measures in the last 12 months coincide with a return to pre-pandemic related movements in the community“. “While there has been an increase in recorded crime measures for the year ending 31 March 2023, the figures remain below those recorded in 2019,“ she said. The data revealed steep rises in various criminal offences within Casey since 2022. Residential aggravated burglaries have ex-
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