"Look here!” said the Dodger, drawing forth a handful of shillings and half-pence. “Here's a jolly life!” The whimsy of Dickens’ youthful pickpocket, the Artful Dodger, comes to mind with news of a crime spike in Sydney’s Hills Shire.

Police in the area told the Herald they have “seen a rise in knife crime and other youth crime since the introduction of the new Metro”. Where are the perpetrators from? “Other parts of Sydney”, was the refrain. Places like Schofields, Riverstone, Quakers Hill, Doonside and Blacktown.

Police are cracking down on crime in the Hills District. Credit:NSW Police Media

Well there you go. It’s those dreaded Westies again. Granted the convenience of public transport, what do they do? They choose the “jolly life” of crime. Worse, they unleash their dastardly spree on citizens of a more rarefied socio-economic standing.

Only weeks into the new year, the Latte Line is retraced, and the old western Sydney stereotypes return. The evidence, however, tells a different tale. Trend analysis by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research suggests the Hills has more pressing issues. In the year from October 2018 to September 2019, incidents of domestic violence and related assault reported to police in the district increased 24.7 per cent. Intimidation, stalking and harassment in the area over the same period were up by 38.7 per cent.