Moorabool residents are concerned for their safety because of what they say is a shortage of police in the municipality.
A Ballan man, who wanted to remain anonymous because he said he feared becoming a target, said crimes in the neighbourhood were growing and residents were worried.
He said his car had been scratched and friends and family had reported theft and graffiti. He said private and public properties were affected, with Ballan’s Rotunda Park the target of vandalism last month.
The man said he hoped for more police and patrols in the area so both the community and criminals could see they were around.
“A lack of numbers is making it difficult for the police who are here to show a presence, especially late at night,” he said.
“The vandals are getting away with crap at the moment and if they continue to get away with things it’s going to escalate.”
The Nationals’ candidate for Buninyong, Sonia Smith, said she would raise community concerns when she met Minister for Police and Emergency Services Kim Wells next week.
“Many people have raised this with me,” she said. “It’s an issue across the electorate, but especially in Ballan where victims of crime and their families are calling for the local station to be open longer and staffed with more police.
“Community safety is an extremely important issue.
“I’m not only after a guarantee from the minister that the station will not be closed, but I’m looking for additional resources to support our police presence.
“We need a 24-hour police presence to service our community and allay community safety concerns.
“Everyone in our community has a right to feel safe in their own homes and in going about their business.”
Ms Smith said a Moorabool council report last year showed Victoria had 220 sworn police for every 100,000 people in 2011.
But the figure in Bacchus Marsh was 174 and in Ballan it was 145.
“The ratio of police back then was a concern, but thousands of people have moved to Moorabool in the last three years and the safety and security of local communities has become an even bigger priority,” Ms Smith said.
She commended the police for their work with stretched resources and capacities.
