By Ashok Verma
LOCK it or lose it – this is the stark warning from the police to the region’s general public.
This follows a spate of incidents of vehicles broken into and windows smashed, valuables taken and number plates stolen from parked vehicles in the Mitchell Police Service Area (PSA) area, with a majority at the Wallan, Kilmore and Seymour railway stations.
Alarmed at the rise in such incidents in recent weeks, police have increased patrols around the railway stations.
“We will have increased visual presence through local police task force so we can deter these offenders from the area,” Acting Senior Sergeant Joel Prathipaty said.
“It is very unusual because we don’t get that (kind of incidents in the region) a lot or very little. A majority of them (incidents reported) are damaged vehicles, like people breaking in and taking any valuables or stealing number plates,” Sen Sgt Prathipaty said.
“This is what we call a classics smash and grab stuff. It’s too early to come to any conclusion whether it is individuals or gangs’ operation, but obviously we have an open mind investigating something like this.”
Sen Sgt Prathipaty said: “We advise the community to properly lock up their cars and remove any valuables from the car. Don’t leave them in there, like your sat navs, laptops, or anything valuable, or smaller items. That’s what they (offenders) look for, something that they can easily snatch out of the car and get away with.”
“This is the message we want to get across to the community to be on guard and take steps to protect your valuables.”
Sen Sgt Prathipaty said: “We also want to highlight that these incidents are happening predominantly during daylight hours.
“We are also asking the public to report if they see anyone acting suspiciously in the car parks or loitering around the area. We want them to call Crime Stoppers (phone 1800 333 000) or Triple Zero (000) so we can get there immediately and apprehend these people and hold them to an account.
“Also, we have got anti-theft number plate screws. People can pick them up from Neighbourhood Watch or any local police station to secure the plates so that they cannot be removed.”
