ACT

Crimes occuring in the ACT

Police are seeking witnesses to an aggravated robbery at the Weston Raiders Club on Sunday morning.

Two weapon-wielding men approached three staff members in the club’s car park about 3.45am, they said.

They allegedly threatened the staff before forcing them to open up the club and hand over cash.

One man has been described as approximately 170cm tall, of medium build, wearing a black jumper and black pants.

A 48-year-old Sydney man will appear in the Downing Centre Local court today (Tuesday 16 February) following an investigation into allegations of fraud.

It will be alleged in court that the man used his position in a government agency to unlawfully transfer more than $200,000 from a trust account.

The man was charged by Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers with theft from a Commonwealth Agency contrary to s131.1 of the Criminal Code Act 1995.

This offence carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 years imprisonment.

In addition to this charge, on 12 January 2016, the Commissioner of the AFP obtained a restraining order under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Cth) over specified property owned by the man.

ClubsACT has expressed frustration at the rising number of armed robberies, break-ins and burglaries at licensed venues across the territory.

The group which represents the ACT Club movement has asked for a full police briefing on the response to a dozen incidents in the past three weeks.

In the latest armed robbery on Saturday, a man entered the Mawson Club on Heard Street about 2am and allegedly threatened a staff member with a shotgun and demanded cash.

The staff member handed over a quantity of cash and the offender fled the scene.

ClubsACT took to twitter to explain the frustration about a spike in attacks on licensed venues and the lack of arrests.

President Max Mercer said the trend was worrying.

“Like everybody these days they (the police) seem to be under resourced,” he said.

“And it is quite concerning that we have had this increase in the number in incidents in the past three to four weeks.

“The perpetrators are starting to become more brazen and our concern is, that in the not too distant future, someone may be injured just because somebody gets carried away.”

ACT Policing said in the first three months of this year a total of 28 aggravated robberies were reported.

Kambah in Canberra’s south was the worst affected suburb according to those figures.

However, the 2015 figures have dropped from 36 aggravated robberies reported in the same three-month period in 2014.

Mr Mercer said the Mawson Club staff involved in the latest armed robbery had been left traumatised.

Clubs ACT President Max Mercer

 

“You can imagine having a shotgun in front of them is not one of the easiest things,” he said.

“Our management team turned up as soon as they heard and have looked after the staff.

“Counselling has also been arranged for the staff and we have given them contact details of people if they want to talk to someone about what happened.”

ACT Police have appealed for witnesses to the aggravated robbery and security footage from nearby businesses.

The Mawson Club robber is described as being approximately 180 to 186 centimetres tall and of slim build.

He was wearing a dark coloured hooded jumper, dark pants, white jogging shoes and had something black and silver covering over his face.

Police are also investigating a robbery at the Statesman Hotel in Curtin on Friday night where a man threatened workers at the drive-through bottle shop with a knife.

Staff handed over cash and cigarettes to the man who stuffed the goods into a pink reusable shopping bag before running towards Theodore Street.

He left the area in the front passenger seat of a silver sedan heading towards Cotter Road.

ACT Policing is seeking witnesses to two armed robberies that occurred last night (Monday, March 23) in Belconnen.

Around 9.45pm two males smashed the locked front glass door at Kingsley’s Chicken, Rae Street, and entered, armed with knives.

One male guarded three customers, who were still inside the restaurant, while the other entered the kitchen area, taking money from the float and three mobile telephones belonging to staff members who had fled out of a side door.

The two offenders left in a white Hyundai hatchback and drove a short distance to the Canberra Cellars ‘Bottle-O’ on the corner of Luxton and Josephson Street, Belconnen.

The two offenders entered the bottle shop and stole a sum of cash and cigarettes from the attendant before leaving in the direction of Southern Cross Drive.

The first male was wearing a light blue baseball cap, black and white skull face mask, a black hooded jumper with a white motif on the front, black track pants and black shoes.

The second male was wearing a blue hooded jumper, black and white skull face mask, grey track pants and white shoes.

If you saw any suspicious activity or a white Hyundai hatchback in Belconnen at the time of the incident, call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via the website at https://act.crimestoppers.com.au.

ACT Policing is appealing for witnesses to an aggravated robbery that occurred in Weston last night (Saturday, March 14).

About 10.45pm police responded to reports of an aggravated robbery at the Domino’s Pizza shop on Trenerry Street in Weston.

A male entered the store armed with a firearm, jumping the front counter and threatening staff. The offender demanded money from the tills and safe before leaving the store with a sum of cash. He was last seen headed towards Streeton Drive.

The man is described as tall, wearing a black hooded jumper, black track pants with white stripe and carrying a shortened single barrel shotgun and an Aldi shopping bag.

AFP Forensics attended and examined the scene.

ACT Policing is seeking witnesses to an armed robbery which occurred in Calwell on Sunday night (February 15).

About 9pm a male entered the Woolworths Petrol service station at the Calwell Shopping Centre, where he threatened a console operator with a large knife before fleeing with a sum of cash.

Shortly before this, around 8.50pm, a man was seen acting suspiciously around the McDonalds and Woolworths Petrol station at the Lanyon Marketplace in Conder.

The man is described as Caucasian in appearance, aged in his 20s, with a skinny build. He was wearing a blue jumper with a grey hood, black tracksuit pants and carrying a black bumbag.

Police believe the man fled on foot to a waiting car, parked nearby in Roope Close, Calwell.

ACT Policing is calling for witnesses who may have attended the Caltex Service Station in Kambah last night (Sunday 25 January).

Just before 11.30pm, a man entered the service station on O’Halloran Circuit armed with a knife demanding cash and tobacco.

The man had chocked open the sliding door while waiting for the attendant to place the items into a plastic bag, before fleeing on foot towards Drakeford Drive.

At this time, a white coloured sedan pulled up to the service station and a person entered the store. Police would like to speak to this person as well as several people who attended the store shortly after the incident.

ACT Policing’s latest quarterly crime statistics show a five per cent drop in crime reports across Canberra in 2014, with Belconnen leading the way.

The December quarter 2014 statistics published on the ACT Policing CrimeStatistics webpage today showed total reports of crime were down 5.4 per cent when comparing 2014 with 2013 (excluding statistics for traffic infringement notices and collisions).

Belconnen saw the steepest drop across the calendar year (down 12.1 per cent), followed by the Inner North (down 10.8 per cent), Gungahlin (down 10 per cent) and the Inner South (down six per cent).

Further south, three districts saw a slight increase over the calendar year for the first time in six years; Woden (up 9 per cent), Tuggeranong (up 5.3 per cent) and Weston Creek (up 0.9 per cent). The Molonglo District saw an increase of 21 reports over the calendar year and reports will likely increase as the area expands and becomes populated.

Acting Deputy Chief Police Officer Justine Gough said she was pleased to see the continued reduction in crime across the ACT, resulting from joint ACT Government initiatives, an intelligence-led community policing model and the efforts of the ACT community.

“We’re pleased to see that overall crime reports drop in the ACT, continuing a six-year downward trend. While we’ve seen a slight increase in some of the southern districts, the prevailing trend has been a drop in reports. While Canberra has continued to grow, geographically and in population, crime reports have declined, contributing to our reputation as one of Australia’s safest cities,” A/DCPO Gough said.

Crime report types which saw the greatest decline in 2014 compared with 2013 included Sexual Assault (down 34.7 per cent), Assault (down 11.4 per cent), Property Damage (down 16.9 per cent) and Theft (down 5.6 per cent). Reports of Burglary saw an increase of 6.6 per cent and reports of Motor Vehicle Theft increased by 9.6 per cent.

“These statistics all feed into our intelligence-led policing model and allow us to allocate resources and respond to shifting priorities. A key focus for ACT Policing is meeting the targets set out in the Property Crime Reduction Strategy; which we remain on-track to do so by the end of the year,” A/DCPO Gough said.

The joint ACT Policing and ACT Government 2012-15 Property Crime Reduction Strategy has been in place since May 2012 and focuses on crime prevention within the community and diversion of recidivist and young offenders. Since the 2010 benchmark, reports of Burglary and Motor Vehicle Theft have fallen by about 50 per cent.

“I’d like to acknowledge the role the community has played in decreasing crime reports, as people proactively secure their homes and property to prevent crime and actively report suspicious behaviour to Crime Stoppers and police,” A/DCPO Gough said.

The latest quarterly crime statistics are available on the ACT Policing website; police.act.gov.au

ACT Policing is seeking witnesses to the aggravated robbery of a Service Station in Giralang on (Wednesday, 7 January).

About 2.45pm, a man entered the 7/11 Service station on Canopus Crescent, Giralang and threatened the attendant with a knife while demanding cash.

The attendant complied with the man’s demands handing over a sum of cash and cigarettes. The offender then fled on foot.

The man is described as being Aboriginal and Torres Islander in appearance and of solid build. He was approximately 5’11 tall (180cm) and was wearing a black hoody, black long pants, white sneakers and dark black sunglasses.

Two men will face the ACT Magistrates Court this morning (Tuesday, January 6) after they were arrested for aggravated robbery overnight.

About 11.30pm yesterday, a taxi driver was called to a pick-up address in Rivett.

As the taxi reached the address, two men got into the cab and a knife was produced by one of the offenders. The driver was robbed of a sum of cash but fortunately was uninjured.

About an hour later, another suspicious phone call booking was received by the taxi company, with a pick-up address in Giralang. The suspect nature of the call prompted the cab company to call Police Operations.

Gungahlin Patrol members attended the location, arresting two men suspected of committing the robbery earlier in Rivett and located a knife nearby.

The offenders in this matter, a 23-year-old Belconnen man and a 28-year-old Holt man, will face court on aggravated robbery charges later this morning.