Article: Transit police crack down with 'dob in a train thug' scheme

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Transit police crack down with 'dob in a train thug' scheme

Transit police crack down with 'dob in a train thug' scheme
Article from: Herald Sun

Anthony Dowsley

May 30, 2009 12:00am

TRANSIT police are cracking down on Melbourne's troubled train lines with a 'dob in a thug' scheme.

Images of offenders plastered across billboards on 11 of the 15 lines spanning metropolitan Melbourne will be expanded to all lines from July.

The initiative, relaunched in 2007 after an earlier trial, has a 64 per cent strike rate. Parents have often dobbed in their own children.

The 35 tri-sided boards, placed near where the crime occurred, display images taken on CCTV cameras.

An image of one offence is displayed for two weeks before being replaced with another.

Leading Sen Constable Luke Gandolfo, of the transit safety division, said the initiative was an important weapon in the fight against crime on public transport.

"They show specific offences, everything from criminal damage to armed robbery," he said.

"There is no offence committed on the system we won't display on them.

"There've been numerous times we've had parents call and ask why their son or daughter's picture is being displayed."

The scheme is designed to identify only offenders; images of victims and by-standers are blocked out.

Its expansion coincides with a furore over attacks on international students from India, committed on or near the railway system.

Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe said there was a perception that Indian people were easy prey for criminals.

"I don't think they are (racist crimes) in general . . . We think the majority of these things occur through opportunistic activity," he said.

"They do travel at night, they have a tendency to travel on their own, they also do carry valuable items, including iPods, mobile phones, laptop computers -- and, of course, money.

"We think they're vulnerable for those circumstances . . . we just think they're seen as a soft target."

Since the inception of the scheme in 2003, 326 offenders have been identified and charged.

Police figures show there has since been a 27 per cent reduction in crime on the public transport system.

Property crime, including theft of and from cars and graffiti, make up two-thirds of transit crime statistics.

Crimes against the person account for 18 per cent of offences on the public transport network.