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Police say Boroondara residents can do more against burglars
Cassie Maher
22Jul08
A BOROONDARA police officer wants homeowners to think like thieves.
Sgt Stuart Cockerell said residents should conduct a security audit on their house by standing on the street and assessing the vulnerability of their property.
Sgt Cockerell said a survey of residential burglaries across the municipality in June showed:
* 88 per cent of houses burgled did not have an alarm;
* Of those that did have an alarm, none were visible from the street;
* Two-thirds of houses burgled had open driveways (eg. no gate or hedge);
* No houses with locked driveway gates were burgled; and
* Most houses were burgled in broad daylight between 8am and 7pm.
Visible alarms, security system stickers, locked security doors and closed blinds or curtains could significantly reduce the risk of burglaries, Sgt Cockerell said.
He said houses for sale were also an easy target, with sale boards and internet profiles a "catalogue" for thieves.
"It's showing people what's in the house and exactly where it is so they can almost plan their burglary," Sgt Cockerell said.
More than $50,000 worth of antique furniture, advertised on a board, was stolen from a Hawthorn property last year.
Sgt Cockerell said that while no home was immune from being burgled, reducing the risk was vital.
"Just do the best for your own place and hopefully get the burglar to go somewhere else. That may sound callous but if we can all move them along, then they've got nowhere to go," he said.
He noted a recent spike in thefts of plasma televisions in the past fortnight. For information on home security: police.vic.gov.au or neighbourhoodwatch.com.au
