Peter Dutton hosted a community roundtable for victims of crime in Melbourne's east on Tuesday, April 2, 2025. Video via AAP
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00:00For some of the victims of crime, it's obviously traumatic to be able to talk about the experience.
00:07For many people, it can be one of the most life-changing events to find somebody in your
00:13bedroom, to know that somebody's been rummaging around through your belongings or through
00:18things that you really cherish.
00:20And for businesses, a disruption to business, an attack on a business which results in somebody
00:29just losing their confidence to not be able to work the night shift or the afternoon shift.
00:34There are so many ways in which crime can negatively impact them.
00:37I think it's incredibly important as a community that we come together to try and hear some
00:43of the experiences.
00:45My name's Harry Hutchinson and I run a menswear business in Berwick.
00:51I have been broken into and robbed nine times in the last nine months.
00:56That includes a couple of attempted robberies.
00:59I was assaulted once in the store.
01:02My senior female staff member, she was threatened to be run over one day when she chased after
01:08the perpetrator and come in and stole a number of items of clothing.
01:13She raced out after him, stood behind his car, wouldn't let him out and said,
01:17if you don't move, I'm going to run you over.
01:20I'm mad.
01:21I grabbed hold of him and said, I'll get back in the store.
01:24There's no fear.
01:26You know, they have no fear of this.
01:28And the impact it has on your life, it's terrible.
01:32I slept in my store until 6 o'clock in the last one.
01:37Every night, 6 o'clock, the robberies, I have what I call a get on close.
01:43So when my alarm goes off and it's the laundry company, I get back to my store in seven minutes.
01:51And I still have those clothes there even today.
01:56How I can get over it, I don't know.
01:58Peter mentioned mental health issues.
02:01I believe I'm an example of that.
02:04And that's what I got to live with.
02:06The police did a fantastic job trying to catch the perpetrators.
02:10They were there within minutes.
02:11Sometimes they were there before me.
02:13They had the dog squad there.
02:15And there's break-ins.
02:16They come back anywhere from 2 o'clock in the morning to 5 o'clock.
02:21How can you stop it, I don't know.