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Students rock out After a very successful 2025 event, the Cardinia Inter-School Battle of the Bands returned with students rocking out some absolute classics. More photos page 8
Koo Wee Rup Secondary with some Michael Jackson inspiration!
Keep up reports By Afraa Kori With crime continuing to rise in Casey and Cardinia, Crime Stoppers has expressed concern that many incidents may be going unreported. Crime Stoppers community engagement officer Aiden Bloomfield said statistics show people in Melbourne’s western suburbs are generally more likely to report crime than those in the south east. Star News asked whether this was due to stronger police relationships, higher victim numbers or a stronger sense of community. While he was not sure of the reason for the disparity, Mr Bloomfield said there was often a perception that reporting crime would not lead
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formation may be too minor or insignificant, or fears of making mistakes when coming forward. “There is no such thing as a silly report and no information is too small,“ he said. Mr Bloomfield also highlighted the “bystander effect“, where people assume someone else will report an incident, resulting in no report being made at all. Crime Stoppers is an independent not-forprofit organisation that allows people to confidentially share information about crime and suspicious activity. Reports can be made anonymously, with callers not required to provide personal details and online reports not storing IP addresses.
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Liberal MP David Limbrick said, based on his discussions with business owners experiencing repeated crime, many do not report incidents due to the time and effort involved in police reports, fears of increased insurance premiums, and a belief offences are unlikely to be solved. “They know that the police will not turn up in time. It is too dangerous for the staff to intervene,” he said. Mr Bloomfield said under-reporting of crime is a widespread issue, with around 40 per cent of crimes believed to go unreported. Barriers include fear of becoming involved, retaliation from offenders, and negative experiences with police, as well as concerns in-
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to any action. “It’s just one of those things that typically people out in the west, they see things, and they just report it,“ he said at a Casey crime forum on 22 June. “And you come here and people go, ’I personally post it on Facebook’, because it’s that perception that police don’t do any work and nothing happens afterwards.“ He urged residents to report suspicious activity directly to police or Crime Stoppers rather than posting about it on social media. “As a community, we need to help to get everyone safe,” Mr Bloomfield said. “The effects of crime have lots of effects on people, communities and families.”
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