By Luke Voogt
An almost 18 per cent increase in Geelong aggravated burglaries has prompted a new Crime Stoppers and police campaign calling for locals to safeguard their community.
The City of Greater Geelong recorded 277 residential aggravated burglaries in the year to March 2020, according to Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) Victoria.
The figure was an increase of 42 offences or 17.9 per cent on the previous year to March.
An aggravated burglary occurs when someone is present at the property during a break in, and can result in motor vehicle theft and violence toward the victim.
Greater Geelong ranked 10th highest for residential aggravated burglaries per 100,000 population of Victoria’s 79 local government areas in the year to March 2020, according to CSA data.
In response Crime Stoppers and Victoria Police launched their ‘Safeguard your community’ campaign in Geelong on Wednesday, encouraging locals to lock up their properties.
Unlocked doors were the most common point of entry in aggravated burglaries, Crime Stoppers Victoria chief executive Stella Smith warned.
“Individuals who do not secure or lock up their property and think ‘there’s nothing to steal’ or ‘it won’t happen to me’ need to understand that criminals see imaginary dollar signs on everything,” she said.
The campaign was “not about blaming” those who “did not lock their car or front door” but preventing “criminals doing the wrong thing”, Ms Smith said.
She encouraged locals to do “the right thing by reporting what they know” to Crime Stoppers.
“While coronavirus might be invisible to the naked eye, criminal activity is not,” she said.
“We want anyone with information to know they can contact Crime Stoppers; they don’t need to tell us who they are, we don’t use caller ID and we don’t trace IP addresses.”
Geelong Tasking and Crime Intervention Taskforce Detective Senior Sergeant Stephen Pucar said police were using real-time intelligence from the public to target high-risk locations.
“Keeping each other safe is a community-effort and we need the community to share what they know.
“Individuals lock up their properties, police lock up offenders – it’s about keeping everyone safe by working together.”
Confidential reports can be made to Crime Stoppers at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au or by phoning 1800 333 000.
