The Pentridge community in Coburg are becoming hyper-aware of crime nearby, real and imagined, and it feels like they're about to form a posse.
There is a serious bit of background that cannot be ignored with this:
There was an extremely violent offence committed against a resident early January (or possibly late December, I no longer have the dates as I have left the WhatsApp group I am going to reference). Armed assailants entered a home, apparently with a gun, threatened the resident, beat them, and left them in a very bad way.
Following this, the alleged assailants were seen in the area knocking on doors, threatening people, stealing property from front yards etc, people were understandably scared as police were seemingly very slow to respond.
What came from this is that is was discovered the people were in the new apartments recently opened, and somehow it was deduced (with no proof I have seen) that they were in low cost housing (which is a government requirement with large scale developments now of course).
After a few days to a week, the people were arrested, not before their movements being tracked and posted on WhatsApp, along with real time posting of the arrest itself.
What has now happened in the following weeks is constant discussion of everyone walking around that looks like they don't belong.
The brother of a Merri-Bek councillor is part of the group and talked about wanting to make sure "problem people" weren't allowed into the housing. He refused to elaborate on what "problem people" were, or how this would be policed.
(EDIT - context for the above comment follows)
The councillor has also been a part of the conversation and did not speak out against this attitude either, thus tacitly agreeing with not wanting to "problem people" in the housing.
If I were a councillor and someone related to me was being this unwelcoming and prejudiced, I would have spoken up if I disagreed with them.
People are now posting about every coming and going, including posting up things like seeing someone walking while smoking at night
Discussions of people "looking dodgy" and the few that have spoken up against making assumptions or being unfair have been called woke, easily offended etc.
So this is now the attitude that is being shown in the group against people who speak up against the bigotry and assumptions being made about people living in low cost housing, and this is being accepted.
What makes this especially crazy is that crime has always happened around here (as it does everywhere), but the knowledge of it with an honestly heinous act against someone has stirred up a load of fear and obviously people suddenly feel unsafe.
We have a large complex of community housing just north east of the Pentridge area on Murray Road, along with community housing dotted throughout that area, so low income people have already been in close proximity.
Cars have been stolen before in the area, hoons have driven through the streets in the early hours of the morning for the entire 7ish years I have lived here. None of this okay, but it's also part of living in Melbourne and society in general.
But with this sudden change now that the low income housing is right in the midst of Pentridge, people are scared and ready to pounce and acting as though this is some new threat and I am concerned that someone is going to get hurt from this kind of fear and anger.