Robberies at Woden

[Toyota Camry]

I have read about this at Reddit; you should take care in that area at night. It may be better to wait for a bus to your destination, than to try walking and get robbed.

https://www.reddit.com/r/canberra/comments/8z1jvu/psa_dangerous_scam_corinna_st_woden_westfield/

After working in security in and around Woden for many years and seeing this news article today

https://www.news.com.au/national/crime/two-arrested-over-woolworths-carpark-stabbing/news-story/a563b684b1ad3cdfd81aca0f3b6f355d

I want people to know that a similar situation is occurring outside Westfield Woden at the top entrance on Corinna St. after around 8:30PM at night. Several people work in a group to approach and rob people leaving Woden when they are leaving the restaurants, or leaving from the top Coles and Woolworths entrance.

The scam involves a scout watching in to Westfield shopping centre from the Corinna Chambers side of Corinna St. near the Taxi rank. From there the scout can see people using the ATMs outside the chemist, buying alchocol/cigarettes at the bottle shop and leaving restaurants. They never cross onto the Westfield side of the road to avoid Westfield security getting involved. They generally target males that are by themselves or in small groups, eg. leaving drunk from a restaurant.

They walk along Corinna St. following the victim from across the road until the victim leaves the area managed by Westfield security. This is nearly always the pedestrian crossing on Keltie St. and the pedestrian crossing to the Woden Library, and the pedestrian crossing that leads to the car park and pedestrian footpath at the corner of Hindmarsh and Melrose Dr.

A female will often signal to others and then approach the victim asking for cigarettes, a lighter, spare change etc. If the victim refuses the female will call out something to draw attention to the victim and intimidate bystanders such as "don't you f**ken touch me", "get your f**ken hands off me". This also gives a second male from the scam the opportunity to move in and assist. The threats then escalate quickly into serious threats of violence. In some situations, the second male that approaches will use a brindle coloured dog on a leash to intimidate the victim.

They take usual items of value like alcohol, cigarettes, wallets, phones and then run towards Melrose Dr. If the victim is approached/attacked at the Keltie St. crossing, they run towards the tunnel behind Chemist Warehouse and often throw stolen items into the garden near the day care so they can be retrieved later to avoid being found in possession of them if Police do turn up.

I have seen Police do a loop in a car from the Woden Police station when called by security but not much else. It may be because of embarrassment that it was a woman, wanting to leave the situation, time of night or concerns for safety, but victims rarely stay to give statements.

If you are around the Corinna St. entrance of Woden after hours, be extremely vigilant and stay safe.

[Sylvan Loves Buses]

Yep, Woden is quite the bad area for such scum. Had my bike stolen around the other side at the start of this year.