John ‘Sly’ Silvester says Victoria has reached the “new normal” after COVID-19 lockdowns, and crime is on rise.

He says the removal of mandatory mask wearing in most public spaces was “almost like a green light” for criminals in Victoria.

“There’s been a spike in aggravated burglaries, in carjackings, family violence is off the scale, first-responding police are being run ragged,” he told Stephen Quartermain and Emily Power, filling in for Ross and Russel.

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