Jonathon Kelly never encountered crime during the first his first seven years in Windsor, but in the past 12 months his car has been stolen and his home broken into twice.
He moved to inner Melbourne for its vibrancy but has since become so concerned about how it has changed he worries about the safety of his son coming home from soccer training.
“When I grew up in Sydney, we would travel to Melbourne to come to Chapel Street to go shopping,” Kelly said.
“The irony is, 20 years later, I now live here and no one comes to Melbourne to come to Chapel Street.”
Kelly was among about 100 people who gathered outside Prahran Town Hall on Saturday for what was promoted as a rally to “reclaim” the community in Prahran, Windsor and South Yarra.
Crime, feeling unsafe at night, retailers’ struggles, Stonnington Council debt and concerns about people using drugs in public were issues raised by speakers, while condemnation of the council’s controversial parking changes brought applause.
Thurston and Howell boutique owner Tim Morffew said many retailers had reached breaking point but were trying to keep the area alive.
“The social cohesion of what was once Melbourne’s premier shopping strip has completely eroded over the last three years,” Morffew said.
“My staff and customers are regularly forced to navigate aggressive, unpredictable and antisocial behaviour.”
South Yarra local Felipe Strahovsky said that while it was important not to shy away from real life, he was also worried about the safety of his three children, and many people felt like they couldn’t use public space the way they used to.
“I don’t want my kids to fall next to syringes or crash [into] bottles on the streets,” Strahovsky said.
Rally co-organiser Gary Mann said many locals were fed up with the area “spiralling downwards” over the past decade and urged authorities – particularly the council – to be more creative with solutions to revitalise the area.
He said adding more greenery, more pop-ups in vacant shops, fixing broken footpaths and tightening liquor laws would go a long way, but he didn’t have all the answers.
Fellow organiser Natalie Doherty said she didn’t feel safe in Prahran, even at seven in the morning.
“I will always see at least one person, crazy, yelling at me. I step over vomit, poo. I see syringes on the footpath,” she said.
However, Windsor resident Judy Gold, who did not attend the rally, was more optimistic.
She had noticed more rough sleepers but said that was an issue a lot bigger than just Stonnington. She said it was still a great place to raise a family, and Chapel Street had always had ups and downs.
“It’s always had issues,” she said. “There’s always been noise in Chapel Street and crime and rubbish, so I don’t think that’s any surprise to anyone who has been been living here.”
At the end of January, 15.3 per cent of shopfronts on Chapel Street were vacant. In nearby St Kilda retail strip Fitzroy Street, the vacancy rate was at 10.1 per cent in early January, and it was just 6.7 per cent in Acland Street.
Stonnington Council chief executive Dale Dickson said the mayor had offered to meet rally organisers but hadn’t heard back. He said the state government, not the council, was responsible for many issues raised.
He said new parking fees were comparable to those in other councils. A review of Chapel Street lighting had been commissioned and an extra 825 hours were spent cleaning the precinct in late 2025, he said.
“There are some false statements in the [rally] poster being circulated, including that council is $100 million in debt, which is grossly exaggerated,” Dickson said.
“Stonnington’s actual forecast debt of $73.9 million at the end of 2025-26 is well below our borrowing limit and is manageable.”
He said council officers were increasing joint patrols with police, and the council had invested in Prahran police station CCTV and supported outreach services.
Total criminal incidents in Stonnington jumped 6.5 per cent in 2025 compared with 2024. Stealing from motor vehicles was the most common crime, according to crime statistics data.
Street-level data is not publicly available, but police said crime on Chapel Street had dropped 7.5 per cent during that time, while also pointing to a 12 per cent fall in retail, serious and violent crimes.
Seventeen people had been arrested on Chapel Street on Friday and Saturday nights this year under Operation Safenight, police said.
A Victorian government spokesperson said there was more work to do to keep the community safe, but crime crackdowns included bail changes and “adult time for violent crime” laws.
“Victoria has more police on the beat than anywhere else in Australia, and we’re backing the chief commissioner’s plan to get even more officers out from desks and onto the streets,” the spokesperson said.
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Rachael Ward is a journalist in the City team at The Age. Contact her at rachael.ward@theage.com.auConnect via email.
