Latest news with #Soteria
The Advertiser
14-07-2025
- The Advertiser
'They move from home to home or car to car until they find the one'
POLICE investigating property offences in Newcastle are often able to piece together a bigger picture that shows how stealthy thieves operating under the cover of night go door-to-door searching for one that's unlocked. Officers are confident they have made a dent in property offending in the region, but have issued a new plea for residents to help protect themselves from the trauma of crime, and protect their belongings, by locking up. Newcastle police acting superintendent Steve Benson said investigations and targeted operations such as Soteria had led to arrests and a reduction in overall property crime in the area compared with recent months. But police who have been called to piece together recent offences such as break-ins and thefts from vehicles had noticed that the vast majority involved access via an unlocked door. "To complement what we are doing in arresting offenders, one of the greatest prevention strategies we have is ensuring it's tough for them to commit these crimes," Acting Superintendent Benson said. "They generally do not want to be heard or seen; they do it in the dead of night when no one is around." While there was the occasional window smashed or forced entry, Acting Superintendent Benson said police knew through their leads and data that most offenders appeared to be "looking for easy access" and were opportunistic. When police were called to an incident, they generally canvassed the street and reviewed CCTV, and were then able to piece together a larger picture, Acting Superintendent Benson said. That often showed how a person or people walked the street and surrounding streets, testing doors and moving on, "looking for the one house or car" that is not secured, even if it took them a few hours. Acting Superintendent Benson said residents could make it tougher for thieves to strike by getting into the habit of locking vehicles, doors to homes, taking valuables out of cars and moving items such as e-bikes out of front yards. "It always has been, and probably always will be, the best deterrent ... a small deterrent goes a long way," he said. He said there was not a particular street or suburb that was more prolific than others locally, and it was an issue police were dealing with across NSW. The latest data from the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research in March showed the two-year and 10-year trends for property offending in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie were stable. In the 12 months to March 2025, there were 1397 break-and-enter dwelling offences in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, 2795 steal from motor vehicle reports and 1205 motor vehicle thefts. Behind each number was a person coping with the stress that someone had invaded their privacy and questioning what they could have gone through or taken, Acting Superintendent Benson said. "The thought that someone has accessed a private home is confronting ... I certainly know the feeling and that vulnerability," he said. "We know the job is not done, we have really got to keep on it." People who notice suspicious activity in their area should contact the police. POLICE investigating property offences in Newcastle are often able to piece together a bigger picture that shows how stealthy thieves operating under the cover of night go door-to-door searching for one that's unlocked. Officers are confident they have made a dent in property offending in the region, but have issued a new plea for residents to help protect themselves from the trauma of crime, and protect their belongings, by locking up. Newcastle police acting superintendent Steve Benson said investigations and targeted operations such as Soteria had led to arrests and a reduction in overall property crime in the area compared with recent months. But police who have been called to piece together recent offences such as break-ins and thefts from vehicles had noticed that the vast majority involved access via an unlocked door. "To complement what we are doing in arresting offenders, one of the greatest prevention strategies we have is ensuring it's tough for them to commit these crimes," Acting Superintendent Benson said. "They generally do not want to be heard or seen; they do it in the dead of night when no one is around." While there was the occasional window smashed or forced entry, Acting Superintendent Benson said police knew through their leads and data that most offenders appeared to be "looking for easy access" and were opportunistic. When police were called to an incident, they generally canvassed the street and reviewed CCTV, and were then able to piece together a larger picture, Acting Superintendent Benson said. That often showed how a person or people walked the street and surrounding streets, testing doors and moving on, "looking for the one house or car" that is not secured, even if it took them a few hours. Acting Superintendent Benson said residents could make it tougher for thieves to strike by getting into the habit of locking vehicles, doors to homes, taking valuables out of cars and moving items such as e-bikes out of front yards. "It always has been, and probably always will be, the best deterrent ... a small deterrent goes a long way," he said. He said there was not a particular street or suburb that was more prolific than others locally, and it was an issue police were dealing with across NSW. The latest data from the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research in March showed the two-year and 10-year trends for property offending in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie were stable. In the 12 months to March 2025, there were 1397 break-and-enter dwelling offences in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, 2795 steal from motor vehicle reports and 1205 motor vehicle thefts. Behind each number was a person coping with the stress that someone had invaded their privacy and questioning what they could have gone through or taken, Acting Superintendent Benson said. "The thought that someone has accessed a private home is confronting ... I certainly know the feeling and that vulnerability," he said. "We know the job is not done, we have really got to keep on it." People who notice suspicious activity in their area should contact the police. POLICE investigating property offences in Newcastle are often able to piece together a bigger picture that shows how stealthy thieves operating under the cover of night go door-to-door searching for one that's unlocked. Officers are confident they have made a dent in property offending in the region, but have issued a new plea for residents to help protect themselves from the trauma of crime, and protect their belongings, by locking up. Newcastle police acting superintendent Steve Benson said investigations and targeted operations such as Soteria had led to arrests and a reduction in overall property crime in the area compared with recent months. But police who have been called to piece together recent offences such as break-ins and thefts from vehicles had noticed that the vast majority involved access via an unlocked door. "To complement what we are doing in arresting offenders, one of the greatest prevention strategies we have is ensuring it's tough for them to commit these crimes," Acting Superintendent Benson said. "They generally do not want to be heard or seen; they do it in the dead of night when no one is around." While there was the occasional window smashed or forced entry, Acting Superintendent Benson said police knew through their leads and data that most offenders appeared to be "looking for easy access" and were opportunistic. When police were called to an incident, they generally canvassed the street and reviewed CCTV, and were then able to piece together a larger picture, Acting Superintendent Benson said. That often showed how a person or people walked the street and surrounding streets, testing doors and moving on, "looking for the one house or car" that is not secured, even if it took them a few hours. Acting Superintendent Benson said residents could make it tougher for thieves to strike by getting into the habit of locking vehicles, doors to homes, taking valuables out of cars and moving items such as e-bikes out of front yards. "It always has been, and probably always will be, the best deterrent ... a small deterrent goes a long way," he said. He said there was not a particular street or suburb that was more prolific than others locally, and it was an issue police were dealing with across NSW. The latest data from the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research in March showed the two-year and 10-year trends for property offending in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie were stable. In the 12 months to March 2025, there were 1397 break-and-enter dwelling offences in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, 2795 steal from motor vehicle reports and 1205 motor vehicle thefts. Behind each number was a person coping with the stress that someone had invaded their privacy and questioning what they could have gone through or taken, Acting Superintendent Benson said. "The thought that someone has accessed a private home is confronting ... I certainly know the feeling and that vulnerability," he said. "We know the job is not done, we have really got to keep on it." People who notice suspicious activity in their area should contact the police. POLICE investigating property offences in Newcastle are often able to piece together a bigger picture that shows how stealthy thieves operating under the cover of night go door-to-door searching for one that's unlocked. Officers are confident they have made a dent in property offending in the region, but have issued a new plea for residents to help protect themselves from the trauma of crime, and protect their belongings, by locking up. Newcastle police acting superintendent Steve Benson said investigations and targeted operations such as Soteria had led to arrests and a reduction in overall property crime in the area compared with recent months. But police who have been called to piece together recent offences such as break-ins and thefts from vehicles had noticed that the vast majority involved access via an unlocked door. "To complement what we are doing in arresting offenders, one of the greatest prevention strategies we have is ensuring it's tough for them to commit these crimes," Acting Superintendent Benson said. "They generally do not want to be heard or seen; they do it in the dead of night when no one is around." While there was the occasional window smashed or forced entry, Acting Superintendent Benson said police knew through their leads and data that most offenders appeared to be "looking for easy access" and were opportunistic. When police were called to an incident, they generally canvassed the street and reviewed CCTV, and were then able to piece together a larger picture, Acting Superintendent Benson said. That often showed how a person or people walked the street and surrounding streets, testing doors and moving on, "looking for the one house or car" that is not secured, even if it took them a few hours. Acting Superintendent Benson said residents could make it tougher for thieves to strike by getting into the habit of locking vehicles, doors to homes, taking valuables out of cars and moving items such as e-bikes out of front yards. "It always has been, and probably always will be, the best deterrent ... a small deterrent goes a long way," he said. He said there was not a particular street or suburb that was more prolific than others locally, and it was an issue police were dealing with across NSW. The latest data from the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research in March showed the two-year and 10-year trends for property offending in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie were stable. In the 12 months to March 2025, there were 1397 break-and-enter dwelling offences in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, 2795 steal from motor vehicle reports and 1205 motor vehicle thefts. Behind each number was a person coping with the stress that someone had invaded their privacy and questioning what they could have gone through or taken, Acting Superintendent Benson said. "The thought that someone has accessed a private home is confronting ... I certainly know the feeling and that vulnerability," he said. "We know the job is not done, we have really got to keep on it." People who notice suspicious activity in their area should contact the police.
Sky News AU
01-07-2025
- Sky News AU
Three-day crackdown sees 33 charged as police turn up heat on youth crime in northern and western NSW
A three-day police operation in northern and western NSW has seen 33 youth criminals charged with over 60 offences including 'post-and-boast' crimes and car thefts. Under Operation Soteria, NSW Police launched a three-day high-visibility youth crime blitz, with the taskforce now using covert and intelligence tactics to catch young lawbreakers in regional communities. The operation ran from June 26-28 and was centred in youth crime hotspots with an emphasis on curbing stolen vehicle, break and enter and 'post-and-boast' offenders. Post-and-boast offences are when young offenders share their crimes on social media for notoriety and fame. Police confirmed that 33 youth criminals were charged with a range of serious offences including drug possession, break-and-enter, driving related crimes and breach of bail in northern and western NSW. Officers attached to Operation Soteria also conducted 45 bail compliance checks and issued three infringement notices. NSW Police launched Operation Soteria three months ago after a surge in youth crime swept through regional areas. Offences included holding residents hostage with knives in their own homes and recklessly driving through suburban streets. The taskforce is a long-term strategy designed to co-ordinate police response to serious vehicle and property offences throughout northern and western NSW. One of the most severe incidents involved an alleged armed robbery of an 89-year-old man in his home on Wee Waa Street Walgett on June 24. Two young boys were later arrested in relation to the alleged break in. A 15-year-old boy was arrested in Walgett on June 27 and charged with a litany of offences including aggravated break and enter, car theft, police pursuit and breach of bail. The teen was refused bail and is set to appear in a children's court. A 14-year-old boy was also arrested an hour later in Walgett over a separate aggravated break and enter incident on June 19. A mobile phoned obtained in the search allegedly linked him to the earlier June 24 robbery, with the teen released on conditional bail and is set to face court on July 14. An 18-year-old Dubbo man was arrested after multiple witnesses reporting seeing someone carrying a gun. After a search officers revealed he was carrying a replica handgun and was charged with a number of firearm related offences and is set to appear at Dubbo Local Court on August 6. In a separate incident, a 27-year-old man was arrested in Dubbo after a short foot chase and was charged with five offences including drug possession, domestic violence-related assault and carrying a knife in public. The man remains in police custody and will appear at court on July 15. Police claim that since the operation commenced violent break-and enters and car thefts have dropped by more than 40 per cent in affected areas, with Soteria boss Deputy Commissioner Paul Pisanos stating that 164 people had faced court as the first phase wrapped up. Police said 119 of the 164 people charged were under 18. Deputy Commissioner Pisanos said the unit was entering a new phase, with NSW Police's intelligence command now tasked with monitoring social media in real time to detect crimes before they have been reported. The new covert intelligence tactics to be used including facial recognition are usually reserved for serious gang related crimes, with Sydney gangland expert Jason Weinstein of the State Crime Command to lead the second phase. 'A lot of the methodologies we are using to deal with emerging and serious youth crime are employed across organised and counterterror crime,' Pisanos told the Sydney Morning Herald.
The Age
08-06-2025
- The Age
The moment NSW's youth crime wave shocked top cop
'My heart goes out to our police facing the dilemma of trying to protect the community and enforce the law at the same time in what is more often than not youth with complex backgrounds.' Pisanos had deployed a disruptive taskforce, known as Operation Soteria, which turns anti-gangland tactics against ringleaders of violent, repeat-offending youth gangs. One of the boys in the Bourke crash was a Soteria target, who had tried to separate himself but been pulled back into the mix. 'It's a deadly business, and the stakes are high,' Pisanos said. Teenagers are stealing guns, leading police on high-speed chases, and even helping in underworld hits – all for online clout – in a shocking crime wave across Sydney and the NSW regions. But as police lock up ringleaders, and services try to reach vulnerable youths, indifferent social media giants are refusing to do their part to end the violence. Youth crime has been changing over the decade. Car theft is up 160 per cent, domestic violence and sexual crimes have spiked by about 30 per cent, and residential break-and-enters have risen by 15 per cent. But some cohorts of repeat offenders are also becoming increasingly violent, according to a NSW parliamentary inquiry into community safety, which released its recommendations last week. Some are considered so dangerous that support programs are refusing to take them in. Pisanos rattles off programs he's been plugging police into – Youth Action Meetings, PCYC, even the NRL, to help lower-risk teenagers cut ties with the violent criminal influences Soteria is targeting. 'We know we can't police our way out of the deeper issues, but we have to balance community safety,' Pisanos said. 'No PCYC program will help some of these people who have entrenched violent behaviour.' This week a school cleaner in Moree was allegedly confronted by two teenagers, one armed with a tomahawk, who robbed her for her car. They allegedly crashed the vehicle minutes later. Three days earlier, also in Moree, a group of teenagers allegedly broke into a home and stole a ute. Police threw road spikes under the speeding vehicle and grabbed the 14-year-old driver, along with his three passengers aged 14, 12, and 11. Loading Social media video, obtained by the Herald, shows children in another high-speed chase in the state's west, blasting rap music in a stolen car as sirens flash behind them. In yet another video, children point hunting rifles at one another and throw gang signs with the message '2830 on top' in an apparent reference to the Dubbo postcode. A third video shows children flashing knives at a terrified couple in bed during a break-and-enter. The common thread is what police have come to call 'post and boast', where youngsters film and share their criminal exploits online. A police delegation last year showed such videos to the foreign tech companies that run social media in Australia, asking to expand the definition of 'harmful content'. 'The videos weren't at the extreme end of horror, but they were at the extreme end of influence,' Pisanos said. 'This is the stuff that influences lives and decisions and, ultimately, community safety.' One video showed teenagers in a high-end Mercedes, stolen from Sydney's east, hitting 280km/h in a police chase before crashing. But because most post-and-boast videos didn't show actual violence, the tech companies concluded they do not breach their terms of use. 'They're just not at the table, it's challenging,' Pisanos said. Instead, police are moving their own technology – facial recognition and other secretive software – to monitor social media in real-time. The videos aren't just used to boost notoriety; they have a retraumatising effect on victims and a copycat effect on susceptible followers, Pisanos said. 'We are seeing extreme right-wing groups recruiting young men through hypermasculine messaging, and see it play out in this violence,' Pisanos said. 'It's absolutely chilling. And it's not just kids in Brewarrina or Dubbo or Moree, it's kids in the eastern suburbs.' Last week, police charged a 16-year-old boy with delivering a 'kill car' to a hit squad in Guildford. Police allege the car was to be used by an underworld gang – a fully loaded assault rifle, pistol, and jerry can were stashed inside.
Sydney Morning Herald
08-06-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
The moment NSW's youth crime wave shocked top cop
'My heart goes out to our police facing the dilemma of trying to protect the community and enforce the law at the same time in what is more often than not youth with complex backgrounds.' Pisanos had deployed a disruptive taskforce, known as Operation Soteria, which turns anti-gangland tactics against ringleaders of violent, repeat-offending youth gangs. One of the boys in the Bourke crash was a Soteria target, who had tried to separate himself but been pulled back into the mix. 'It's a deadly business, and the stakes are high,' Pisanos said. Teenagers are stealing guns, leading police on high-speed chases, and even helping in underworld hits – all for online clout – in a shocking crime wave across Sydney and the NSW regions. But as police lock up ringleaders, and services try to reach vulnerable youths, indifferent social media giants are refusing to do their part to end the violence. Youth crime has been changing over the decade. Car theft is up 160 per cent, domestic violence and sexual crimes have spiked by about 30 per cent, and residential break-and-enters have risen by 15 per cent. But some cohorts of repeat offenders are also becoming increasingly violent, according to a NSW parliamentary inquiry into community safety, which released its recommendations last week. Some are considered so dangerous that support programs are refusing to take them in. Pisanos rattles off programs he's been plugging police into – Youth Action Meetings, PCYC, even the NRL, to help lower-risk teenagers cut ties with the violent criminal influences Soteria is targeting. 'We know we can't police our way out of the deeper issues, but we have to balance community safety,' Pisanos said. 'No PCYC program will help some of these people who have entrenched violent behaviour.' This week a school cleaner in Moree was allegedly confronted by two teenagers, one armed with a tomahawk, who robbed her for her car. They allegedly crashed the vehicle minutes later. Three days earlier, also in Moree, a group of teenagers allegedly broke into a home and stole a ute. Police threw road spikes under the speeding vehicle and grabbed the 14-year-old driver, along with his three passengers aged 14, 12, and 11. Loading Social media video, obtained by the Herald, shows children in another high-speed chase in the state's west, blasting rap music in a stolen car as sirens flash behind them. In yet another video, children point hunting rifles at one another and throw gang signs with the message '2830 on top' in an apparent reference to the Dubbo postcode. A third video shows children flashing knives at a terrified couple in bed during a break-and-enter. The common thread is what police have come to call 'post and boast', where youngsters film and share their criminal exploits online. A police delegation last year showed such videos to the foreign tech companies that run social media in Australia, asking to expand the definition of 'harmful content'. 'The videos weren't at the extreme end of horror, but they were at the extreme end of influence,' Pisanos said. 'This is the stuff that influences lives and decisions and, ultimately, community safety.' One video showed teenagers in a high-end Mercedes, stolen from Sydney's east, hitting 280km/h in a police chase before crashing. But because most post-and-boast videos didn't show actual violence, the tech companies concluded they do not breach their terms of use. 'They're just not at the table, it's challenging,' Pisanos said. Instead, police are moving their own technology – facial recognition and other secretive software – to monitor social media in real-time. The videos aren't just used to boost notoriety; they have a retraumatising effect on victims and a copycat effect on susceptible followers, Pisanos said. 'We are seeing extreme right-wing groups recruiting young men through hypermasculine messaging, and see it play out in this violence,' Pisanos said. 'It's absolutely chilling. And it's not just kids in Brewarrina or Dubbo or Moree, it's kids in the eastern suburbs.' Last week, police charged a 16-year-old boy with delivering a 'kill car' to a hit squad in Guildford. Police allege the car was to be used by an underworld gang – a fully loaded assault rifle, pistol, and jerry can were stashed inside.
BBC News
09-03-2025
- BBC News
Jersey police take part in UK rape investigation scheme
Jersey has been hosting key training sessions for investigators of rape and serious sexual assault offences, as part of a UK Soteria was launched in June 2021 to address concerns in the UK regarding sexual offences and increasing violence against women and girls. Investigators took part in training, with senior leaders consulting the UK operation's joint unit to strengthen Jersey's enforcement Supt Alison Fossey, from States of Jersey Police, said tackling violence against women and girls was "one of our key areas to focus on". "To that end we are implementing Operation Soteria which is an ambitious programme of work to transform the way that rape investigations and prosecutions are handled and progressed, with a focus on investigating the suspect rather than the victim," she said.
