Star Weekly - Wyndham - 4th October 2023 by Star Weekly

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4 OCTOBER, 2023

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Bay ride is a family affair

Alissa, Raquel, Andrew and Connor Tweedley from Tarneit are again participating in the Around the Bay bike ride on Sunday, October 8. (Jacob Pattison) 362324_04

For Tarneit’s Tweedley family, the traditional Sunday drive has been replaced by the Sunday ride, especially when October rolls around. Since 2017 the family of four has been participating in the Around the Bay Ride bike ride, only missing in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID. And with the 2023 event taking place this Sunday October 8, the Tweedleys will be again among the estimated 10,000 cyclists taking part. “The best thing about United Energy Around the Bay is to get outside in the open air and sunshine with all the other cyclists in a safe and fun environment” said Andrew Tweedley of the ride which he will do along with wife Raquel and children Connor and Alissa. The Tweedleys will do the 17km family ride to raise money for Maddie Riewoldt’s Vision, the charity set up by footballers Nick and Jack Riewoldt in honour of their sister and cousin who died of Bone Marrow Failure Syndrome. “Our entire family are St Kilda supporters (even though I barrack for Essendon) and we always attend Maddie’s Match each year as a family,“ said Mr Tweedley.

Crime rises in Wyndham By Cade Lucas Crime has continued to soar in Wyndham with recorded offences up by 12.5 per cent for the year to June 2023. The latest crime statistics released on Thursday September 28, showed Wyndham recorded a total of 18,340 offences in the year to June compared to 16,297 at the same point in 2022. Werribee recorded the most offences of any suburb, with 5178, well ahead of Hoppers Crossing on 2999, Point Cook on 2578, Tarneit on 2477 and Truganina on 1496. All figures were increases on the previous year. Stealing from a vehicle was the most common offence, with 2143 recorded, ahead of other

theft, breach of family violence order, criminal damage and stealing from a retail store. Houses were the most common location for offences to occur, followed by streets, driveways, shopping complexes and other retail outlets. The results are even worse when compared to those of 2019, which was unaffected by COVID and considered by police to be a more relevant comparison. In June 2019 recorded offences grew by 6.1 per cent, less than half the rate of increase of today and the 11,722 in total offences was almost 7000 below the total for June 2023. However, Wyndham Local Area Commander Acting Inspector Ben Jarman

said when adjusted for population the figures weren’t so bad, with 5,719 offences per 100,000 people, up from 5,617 pre-pandemic, a rise of only 1.8 per cent. Acting Inspector Jarman said the figures allowed police to adopted a targeted approach to combating crime. “Our top priority is community safety so we continue to focus our resources according to the latest crime trends, community concerns, and ultimately where we can prevent the most harm,“ he said, adding that youth gangs and family violence were areas of particular focus for Wyndham police. The statistics showed family violence incidents in Wyndham jumped by 11.6 per

cent over the year to June, with 4496 recorded, compared to 4030 to June 2022 and 3,246 to June 2019. Acting Inspector Jarman said the increase was partly due to police bringing more perpetrators to justice. “The statistics indicate Wyndham police are continuing to arrest offenders for breaching family violence orders – with an increase of 16 per cent since pre-pandemic,” he said. This can be attributed to the proactive work of dedicated police, who are knocking on the doors of victims and perpetrators to ensure offenders know they are being monitored, victims feel supported, and breaches are more easily identified.”

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