They say justice never takes a holiday, neither does crime it seems. Sadly, our sleepy safe community has been rocked by a wave of burglaries and vandalism. The not so jolly criminals appeared to get the jump on Santa with an early morning shop visit to Barham IGA before Christmas.

IGA store owner Glenn Faul said the thieves did not appear experts, but had looked like they had done it before.

“We got a call from the alarm monitoring service about 5:20am,” said Glenn.

“I couldn’t see anything broken or missing, so I went back through the security footage.

“The vehicle drove past, casing the place, before backing up to the gutter with the rear of the little white SUV near the front doors of the supermarket.

“They popped the lock on the front door with a jimmy bar.”

Once inside, the intruders went straight for the cigarette cabinet and after failing to open the cabinet, retreated with the sound of the alarm.

Similar early morning burglaries also took place in Koondrook, when at 5.30am on Sunday, January 8, an offender forced entry to the post office and hairdresser in Main Street.

“It does unnerve you, I will admit,” said Koondrook Post Office owner Luke Boschert.

“I didn’t think that it would have the impact that it did have, but you do not feel comfortable after it’s happened to you at all.

“There was not a lot of damage done, which is positive. The downside is that there were some things stolen, but that is part of an ongoing investigation with Australia Post.

“Victoria Police have done a great job, I was able to provide them with some video footage, so hopefully, that will help in their ongoing investigations.”

Major Look Hairdressing owner Carmen Bott feels it was only a matter of time.

“Yeah, it’s disappointing, I felt like it was only a matter of time with the break-ins lately.

“The major damage was to my front door, they cracked the glass and stole my cash register, which was empty.

“I had actually left my wallet at work Saturday and drove back at 9pm to get it.

“Thank God I did.

“It makes you feel uneasy, it’s hard not to think ‘when am I going to be next, what are they going to take?’”

Other thefts also took place between December 30 and January 4. Offenders accessed the old church in Main Street, Koondrook and stole antique items, including an old gramophone and vinyl records. Around the same time, offenders forced entry to Border Plumbing on Grigg Road, and stole a trailer containing a Kanga digger.

Molins Motorcycles and Marine was also targeted as investigators believe two male offenders have forced entry to the premises, causing damage to the door, and stolen two yellow Suzuki JR80 motorcycles.

Both Koondrook and Barham have also seen a spate of malicious damage with a Forest Street address in Koondrook having 13 tyres slashed, and in Barham, Scott McKenzie Transport had wiring cut on several semi-trailers on Monday night.

Due to the recent increase in burglaries over the Christmas holiday period, Kerang Police Station Commander – Acting Senior Sergeant Tanya Brooks would like to remind all local residents in the Gannawarra Shire to be vigilant and ensure private residences and commercial premises (businesses) are locked and secure to deter offenders and prevent property theft.

Local police are working with residents and business owners to ensure they have appropriate security measures in place. 

Please contact your local police if you need any advice on how to make your residence or business more secure. 

Please contact 000 if you see any suspicious activity or require urgent police assistance or contact Crimestoppers: 1800 333 000.

This article appeared in The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper, 12 January 2023.