Council workers are hosing down the pedestrian mall in the middle of Footscray on a cold Monday morning.<\/p>\n
A homeless man is rushing to move his mattress as pressure washers soak the concrete pavers.<\/p>\n
Outside a cafe is a man wearing a red devil mask with silver horns and a high-vis yellow jacket. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s an odd scene for most people but passersby and cafe workers hardly notice. It\u2019s business as usual for a suburb struggling to combat skyrocketing crime and anti-social behaviour.<\/p>\n
Store after store is closed. Windows are smashed and For Sale signs are everywhere.<\/p>\n
The once-thriving suburb, called home by generations of blue-collar workers, post-war European migrants and a significant Vietnamese population, is strikingly quiet.<\/p>\n
Foot traffic is almost non-existent here now \u2014 part of the reason traders are packing up one after the other to try again somewhere else.<\/p>\n
In the last week alone, a cafe and a neighbourhood bar both called it quits, taking to social media to share the news they\u2019ll be closing their doors.<\/p>\n
Misfits, a hugely-popular night spot, will host a few more gigs but Counterweight Vinyl and Espresso is closed permanently, citing crime that makes it impossible to continue.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were forced to close down our store in Footscray mall due to the absolute dumpster fire that it has become,\u201d the business wrote on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has risen to our attention that wearing this T-shirt makes us feel better, evidently others too.\u201d<\/p>\n
The accompanying image included a mock T-shirt that reads: \u201cFootscray is a shithole.\u201d<\/p>\n
The reaction from many locals was supportive, but several came to Footscray\u2019s defence.<\/p>\n
\u201cI adore Footscray. This t-shirt sucks, as does the vibe of this post,\u201d one person wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cI grew up in Footscray in the 90\u2019s, it was a dynamic, thriving and complex community then, I visited yesterday and I still love it, only difference is that this trope has seeped in and polluted the water, you want to be in a safe community, then be a safe community to others, you think you\u2019re better than people, then you aren\u2019t helping anything,\u201d another wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will be better off without you, if hard times make you shit on your \u2018own\u2019 community,\u201d the commenter said.<\/p>\n
The owner told news.com.au that among those rushing to the defence of Footscray was a member of Maribyrnong Council who told the business to \u201cget over it\u201d. <\/p>\n
The business opted not to talk further on the situation but news.com.au understands there have been dozens of violent incidents that have had a significant impact on staff working there.<\/p>\n
Responding to comments, Counterweight Vinyl and Espresso wrote: \u201cI could release the footage, there\u2019s plenty of it, but I shouldn\u2019t really have to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Footscray is unequivocally in the grip of a major surge in violent crime and theft.<\/p>\n
News.com.au has analysed data from the Crime Statistics Agency that shows overall criminal incidents in Footscray in the last 12 months are up to 3522.<\/p>\n
That figure is slightly down from 3530 in 2025 but almost 1000 more than there were a decade ago when the number was 2514.<\/p>\n
There were 336 assaults last year alone, almost double the figure from 2019 and a staggering 1723 thefts, the highest in a decade and well above the 677 recorded in 2021.<\/p>\n
Weapons offences were also at a decade high.<\/p>\n
Maribyrnong, the region that includes suburbs like Footscray and Braybrook, recorded a rate of 9,948 criminal incidents per 100,000 people in 2026. <\/p>\n
That ranks 19th in the state. Melbourne City Council had the highest crime rate and the City of Casey came in second.<\/p>\n
Several traders who spoke to news.com.au on condition of anonymity this week said anti-social behaviour in Footscray was impossible to ignore and made doing business a daily struggle.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to pile on but there is no doubt it\u2019s getting worse all the time,\u201d one person said.<\/p>\n
The problems in Footscray have been well documented in recent years. <\/p>\n
They include a frightening incident earlier this month when Footscray High School on Barkly Street was locked down as a siege played out with a 44-year-old man.<\/p>\n
The dramatic, 90-minute stand-off<\/a> saw police allegedly targeted with ball bearings. They later arrested and charged the man and found edged weapons, a slingshot and imitation firearms.<\/p>\n Another man was charged with murder last year after a 25-year-old man was stabbed several times in an alleyway behind the Courthouse Hotel on Nicholson Street. <\/p>\n In a separate incident, a man suffered life-threatening injuries after being slashed with a machete on Albert Street last year.<\/p>\n And a 35-year-old man was shot and killed by police after he refused to drop a knife and charged in their direction last April.<\/p>\n Other incidents have been captured on film, including one video that showed a woman hurling a beer keg into a shopfront over and over before grabbing shards of glass and running at bystanders.<\/p>\n She was tackled to the ground in an incident that locals said was becoming all too familiar.<\/p>\n