Tuesday, 1 April 2025

Western Metropolitan Region

Trung LUU (Western Metropolitan) (13:06): (1506) My constituency question is for the Minister for Police regarding recent youth crime and violent retail theft in Werribee. On 20 March another lockdown incident at the Pacific Werribee shopping centre shocked my community. A 16-year-old wielding a machete stabbed another 18-year-old in the middle of the shopping centre. My constituents described the incident as terrifying, with people running everywhere and a frightened lady screaming, ‘A knife!’ Can the minister please update my constituents around the government’s plan to address youth crime and escalating violent retail theft to keep my community safe? In one year theft from retail stores has increased 76 per cent in Werribee and 64 per cent in the Hoppers Crossing area, indicating the government’s current laws are not addressing the crime problem or keeping Victorians safe. Shopping centres are places where families interact and spend quality time together; they are not places where families should feel unsafe and fearful.