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26 MARCH, 2025
Students are riding high Truganina South Primary School students got on their bikes for Ride2School Day last week. Students were encouraged to travel to school by riding, scooting or walking in the name of promoting healthier lifestyles, easing traffic congestion and reducing carbon emissions. The event, which has run at the school for seven years, was held on March 21 and also included a ‘decorate your bike’ competition. Werribee Men’s Shed volunteers visited the school to conduct basic bike maintenance. Truganina South vice principal Cass Beckman said the day was a huge success. “The most rewarding part of the event was seeing the smiles on children’s faces travelling to school with their family and friends,” she said. “Lots of families spoke about actively travelling to school more often.”
Truganina South Primary students Katie and Kiyan got on their bikes for Ride2School (Damjan Janevski) 464907_02
Crime surges in Wyndham By Laura Michell Crime in Wyndham has reached a 10-year high, latest crime data has revealed. Data from the Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) revealed that 23,045 offences were recorded in Wyndham during 2024 – an increase of 23.7 per cent from the 18,628 offences recorded in the previous 12 months. The total number of offences recorded in the municipality was the highest in the north-west metropolitan region and the fourth highest in the state behind the City of Melbourne (42, 742 offences), Casey (27,285) and Geelong (25,086). CSA first began recording the state’s crime data in 2015. Its data shows that the number of
offences recorded in Wyndham has increased dramatically, with 14,303 offences recorded in 2015. However the rate of offences per 100,000 people has increased at a much slower rate, rising from 6689 in 2015 to 6847 in 2024. Victoria Police Regional Operations Deputy Commissioner Bob Hill described the overall crime rates in Victoria as “totally unacceptable”. “The sad reality is that more crime equates to more victims involving members of community, who in some cases, will be impacted for life,” he said. Stealing from a motor vehicle was the most common crime in Wyndham in 2024, with 3622 offences recorded. This was an 83.3 per cent increase from 2023 when 1976 offences
were recorded, Police said stealing from a motor vehicle was also the most common – and fastest growing – crime across the state, driven by theft of number plates and power tools. ‘Other theft’ offences (taking in theft of petrol or personal belonging when the owner puts them down) was the second most common offence recorded in Wyndham (2644 offences), followed by breaches of family violence orders (1955) and criminal damage (1745). Motor vehicle thefts rounded out the top five offence categories in Wyndham. There were 1398 offences recorded in 2024, up from 890 in the previous 12 months. Police said that across the state, motor vehicle theft had reached its highest level since 2022. Mr Hill said technology was playing a part
in the rising number of vehicle thefts, with offenders using electronic devices to exploit vehicle security systems and steal cars. “Victoria Police continues to engage vehicle manufacturers around this issue, while vehicle owners can protect themselves from falling victim by installing cheap and easy crime prevention measures.” According to CSA, the highest number of offences were recorded in Werribee (5911), followed by Tarneit (3801). Offenders aged 18-24 were the most likely to commit crime in Wyndham, accounting for 1112 offences, followed by those aged 30-34 (1038). There were 957 youth offenders aged 10-17 – down slightly from 964 offenders in 2023.
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