Victoria Police has teamed up with Crime Stoppers Victoria on a new campaign to tackle aggravated burglaries.
Chief Executive of Crime Stoppers Victoria, Stella Smith said the LIGHTS. CAMERA. CATCH ’EM campaign called on the community to share what they knew about this type of offending and submit footage of suspicious activity to Crime Stoppers.
Ms Smith said Crime Statistics Agency figures showed there were 4,214 residential aggravated burglary offences in Victoria during the year ending 30 September 2022, “this represents a 12.7 per cent increase on the previous period.”
“By regularly reviewing your CCTV cameras and sharing any suspicious activity recorded, you could assist investigators and help protect your community,” Ms Smith said.
“We need the community’s assistance to help police catch perpetrators and prevent any further home break-ins or people’s cars being stolen from their own driveway,” she said.
“We want the community to know that collaboration is key to preventing and solving these incidents.
“If you see something, say something.”
Ms Smith said an aggravated burglary could occur when the offender enters a home with someone inside.
She said the new campaign put offenders on notice that anyone in the community could be watching them.
Providing examples of the types of footage which could be submitted to assist investigators, Ms Smith said this included CCTV or dashcam footage of suspicious behaviour such as people trying car doors or looking into vehicles, loitering outside properties and looking through windows or attempting to enter homes.
Victoria Police, Acting Assistant Commissioner Southern Metro Region, Therese Fitzgerald said police take aggravated burglaries and car theft extremely seriously.
“Aggravated burglaries are a key area of concern for police,” A/Assistant Commissioner Fitzgerald said.
“That’s why we’re so pleased to be teaming up with Crime Stoppers Victoria,” she said.
“Information from the public is crucial in helping us track down offenders and hold them to account.”
