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Police are urging Ballarat residents to be on high alert after a spate of recent burglaries and car thefts throughout the city. Another aggravated burglary was recorded in Invermay Park early on Wednesday morning, where offenders broke into a property to steal car keys, a handbag and mobile phones before stealing a vehicle from the property’s garage. On Wednesday police delivered letters to hundreds of residences throughout the suburb with the assistance of Neighbourhood Watch volunteers in order to encourage people in the community to play a more proactive role in crime prevention. Leading Senior Constable Janine Walker said while police were doing all they could to prevent crime throughout the city, they required to assistance of the community to stop would-be offenders. “We’re not trying to attack the community and lay blame, but it’s about the people who are leaving themselves vulnerable and how we can empower them,” Leading Senior Constable Walker said. “We want to recognise the people in the community who are doing the right thing and thinking about their security, because crime prevention is a shared responsibility between police and the community.” The plea comes after Crime Statistics Agency data revealed an increase in theft throughout the Ballarat region in the year finishing September 2016, with 439 more theft crimes recorded than the previous year. Equally alarming were the statistics per-100,000 people, which placed theft in Ballarat higher than regional counterparts Bendigo and Geelong as well as metropolitan outskirts such as Frankston and Melton. In their most recent warning Ballarat Police have identified Invermay Park, Wendouree North and Miners Rest as hot spots for crimes such as aggravated burglary and car theft. Leading Senior Constable Walker said even the most basic preventative measures could play a dramatic role in minimising the chance of people becoming victims of crime. “We have quite an issue in Ballarat with people leaving their cars and houses open and thinking its safe enough when they’re at home,” Leading Senior Constable Walker said. “There’s a past behavioural pattern to when (Ballarat) was a country area and now we’re very much a city. “People need to lock their doors when they are sleeping, whether it be their front or back doors or even doors into a shed.” Leading Senior Constable Walker also urged people to not leave valuables in their vehicles, even if they appeared to be hidden. The message couldn’t ring more clearly for Brown Hill resident Angela Tinetti, whose husband Paul had more than $20,000 worth of tools stolen from a trailer in October. The trailer had been stolen in the early hours of the morning before being found by police four hours later in Mount Helen, where it had been emptied out by thieves. They have now installed a new locking system on the trailer in an effort to protect themselves from further theft. Mrs Tinetti said the incident had not only made the couple more weary of theft in the area, but had led to a heightened effort from neighbours to look out for would-be criminals. “You always think that it’s not going to be you,” Mrs Tinetti said. “You can only do so much and you can’t stop everything but we’re taking every precaution we can, and it’s about talking to other people in the neighbourhood.” Leading Senior Constable Walker also encouraged anyone wishing to play a more active role in the safety of the community to sign up as part of Neighbourhood Watch’s proactive unit. Anyone wishing to register their interest can visit www.nhwballarat.org.

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