Over 100 arrested in Melbourne shopping center crackdown
More than 100 people have been arrested and 30 weapons seized in the first weeks of a crime crackdown at shopping centers across Melbourne, police reported on Tuesday.
Victoria Police released data showing that since the operation began on December 8 at four major Melbourne shopping centers, 109 individuals have been arrested, News.Az reports, citing Xinhua.
Among them was a 15-year-old boy found with a hunting knife, and two men, aged 24 and 25, who attacked each other with a stolen hammer.
Under the operation, authorities have confiscated 30 weapons, including a baton, knuckle dusters, a dagger, and three knives seized from one center in a single day.
The safety initiative follows a series of violent incidents at Melbourne shopping centers, including a brawl between armed members of rival youth gangs in May, which led the state government to fast-track a ban on the sale of machetes.
Bob Hill, Victoria Police’s Deputy Commissioner of Regional Operations, emphasized that a strong police and protective service officer presence will continue at shopping centers throughout the summer.
“As a police force, we simply will not stand for those who bring violence, aggression and weapons to places we should all feel safe,” he said.
The operation has recorded 217 criminal offenses so far, 75 of which were related to theft and shoplifting. According to Victoria’s Crime Statistics Agency, retail theft in the state has risen to 41,789 reported incidents in the 12 months to September, up from 36,181 in the previous year.
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