Friday, March 29, 2024

Crime on the rise

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Kirstin Nicholson, The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper

Locals are rattled over the number of thefts occurring in the district. Over the past few years, thefts from private residences and businesses seem to be more frequent and victims are urging people to make security a priority and to be vigilant.

The most recent theft happened in Leitchville. Having previously operated as a mobile business, Get in Lign was setting up at its new location in the old Kraft factory, sharing the building with the factory’s owner. 

Get in Lign owner, Bradley Church, explained that security footage shows that at around 3.40am on Wednesday, June 9, thieves cut the chain on the front gate. The garage door was rammed to gain entry to the building and thieves spent over an hour at the property. Around $5,000 worth of tools belonging to the factory owner were stolen, along with around $1,000 worth of fuel, tools and equipment from a customer’s truck. 

The thefts were not discovered until the Wednesday afternoon and will set his business back a week. 

“I don’t understand why people do this. We’re trying to get our business up and going. To steal from people who are trying to have a go at it, it’s pretty disheartening. We’re setting up in Leitchy, we just want to bring a bit more business, a bit more life back to Leitchville, and then, to get robbed, and we’ve only been in there a few days. 

“We didn’t really imagine anything like that happening. Now I’m looking at all these different security systems that could have helped with the situation. I just hope that people can trust that I’m going to do the best I can to make sure their vehicles are safe, because that’s an important thing for me. I treat my customers’ vehicles like they’re my own. This is a crappy situation that could happen to anyone. Lucky, I do have an understanding customer this time around but it’s a hell of a shame.

“As a smaller community we’ve just got to find a way. People say this shouldn’t happen in this sort of small community. It shouldn’t because we’ve got each other to lean on. We should be eyes and ears for each other. You don’t want to hear about this happening. In Melbourne this happens every day. We moved back to the country to get away from that sort of lifestyle.”

The vehicle used and caught on security cameras was a white Hilux extra cab ute with a white metal tray, a black bull bar and black snorkel. Anyone who has information can call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

It’s a further blow to Bradley’s business which was to expand into Melbourne in early 2020, but with the outbreak of COVID-19, those plans were squashed.

Cohuna Sports Store was broken in to two days before, at around 3am on Monday, June 7. This break-in is believed to be linked to the ram-raid on Kerang business, Husk, which occurred an hour earlier, and Sportspower Rochester which occurred around 2am Sunday morning.

Sam Morris says a Hayman Reese tow hitch was stolen from their vehicle parked on the nature strip in Cohuna sometime on Tuesday night, June 8. It was a windy night and she believes that any noise made by the thieves would not have been heard.

“We’re devastated because we just always felt really safe here. It’s not something we ever expected to happen. It’s not a nice thing to have happen. It’s just not on.”

Sam’s partner is now not able to tow the trailers he needs for work, and they are grateful that they had recently cleaned the ute out. “You work hard for the things that you’ve got. For someone to think that they can just come in and help themselves to something that you’ve worked really hard for, that annoys me – it’s not fair,” she said.

Owner of Riverland Trading in Cohuna, Garner Smith, said his business has been broken into twice in 14 months. The first break-in was on March 21, 2020, just as COVID-19 was taking hold. It took police a couple of months, but the perpetrator was caught, although the stolen goods were not recovered. 

In the most recent break-in in May this year, Makita power tools, a welder and electronic equipment were stolen. The chains on the front gate were cut, and the door was levered open. Garner estimates the value is close to $10,000 and at this stage the items have not been recovered.

Security cameras were disabled and a modem was also stolen, impacting the business’ internet and phone systems.

Garner says, “It makes you feel a bit violated. Certainly you feel angry and you feel violated.” 

Evan Watt’s 1992 turbo diesel Holden Jackaroo was stolen around 3am on March 30. It had been parked on the road outside his house in Cohuna. Camping gear and tools inside the car were also stolen, and Evan estimates his loss at $6,000. 

He said that having to hot wire the vehicle and it being low on fuel was no deterrent for the thieves, who, he understands, used it to perform other thefts in the district. 

The vehicle was discovered missing when Evan went to leave for work that morning. Despite putting a call out on social media, the car was not found in time to save it or the contents. Police later found the car burnt out near Gunbower. 

“I was in disbelief that it happened,” Evan said. “When I first moved here three years ago, it felt like you could trust everyone. This has put a bitter taste, somewhat of a distrust, not towards the whole community, but there is still that bitterness where, beforehand I was able to be relaxed. Now I’ve got to be somewhat on my guard.”

Evan has had to spend money on alternative travel arrangements, even skateboarding to work some days. He will have to replace tools and parts.

Ann-Marie Link had two large solar lights valued at around $300 stolen from the front of their property out of town. She believes that the thieves came prepared with tools to unbolt the lights from the mounts. 

“We felt angry and vulnerable. You think that nothing’s safe. It’s pretty miserable. I thought it was a low thing to do. You work hard to do all these extra things. You do all these things thinking, well, you’ve worked hard, and people think they can come and help themselves,” Ann-Marie said.

What can you do? 

Overall, the people who spoke to The Bridge said their number one priority is to tighten up security on their properties, whether that be security systems or security cameras. Even if your house or property is not targeted, footage from your cameras might help a neighbour in the same situation.

They have changed their relaxed habits and, through their own experiences, have some suggestions for The Bridge readers: Remove any extra contents from your vehicle, park your vehicle inside your property and lock the gate. Ensure the windows are up and your vehicle is locked. If your car does not already have one, and you can afford it, install a car security device of some sort. 

Whether it is your home, property or business you are protecting, make it difficult for thieves – do what you can to deter criminals and rethink how you approach your security.

Crime prevention

The Victoria Police and Neighbourhood Watch websites have tips on crime prevention.
www.police.vic.gov.au/home-and-property
and www.nhw.com.au 

Report suspicious behaviour

Contact the police as soon as you notice something amiss or if you notice suspicious behaviour. One local noticed a vehicle driving erratically through Cohuna as he was driving to work early one morning. He reported this to police who requested the dash cam footage and were then able to piece together the movements of a vehicle stolen from another town.

Time for Neighbourhood Watch? 

While social media platforms like Facebook have been helpful tools in getting word out quickly when a crime has occurred, good old-fashioned face to face community connection is important. There has been strong interest in resurrecting the Cohuna Neighbourhood Watch group. The vision of Neighbourhood Watch is to create ‘Connected, informed and empowered communities in which people feel safe and secure.’

Garner Smith says as a community we should look out for each other. “When you feel violated, you tend not to really want to talk about it a lot. But I do think talking about it would make a big difference because, if people know, and they know what to look out for, there is a bigger chance that someone is going to notice something. I think it’s important that people know this is going on and they know where it’s going on.”

One last reminder

One last reminder to tighten your security and be vigilant. Do not think that because the weather is terrible, it is late at night or it is a public holiday, thieves will not be active. Any time is an opportune time for thieves to strike, as the people in this article found out. Thank you to those people who were prepared to share their experiences so their community can benefit. Before you turn another page, put The Bridge down. Go outside and take the extra ‘stuff’ out of your car, wind up the windows, park it in your garage or yard and make sure it is locked.

The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper 17 June 2021

This article appeared in The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper, 17 June 2021.

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