Burglaries are on the rise in Whittlesea, with an average of 35 properties broken into each week in the past financial year.
Data from the Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) reveals that in 2015-16, there was a 44.4 per cent jump in burglaries in the municipality, with the number of offences rising from 1267 in 2014-15 to 1830.
Across the state, burglaries rose just 12.6 per cent.
Whittlesea police’s Inspector Paul Tysoe attributed the increase to the prevalence of drug addicts committing property-related crimes to support their habits. He said there had also been a number of break-ins at unoccupied houses under construction, which were difficult for police to tackle as the properties were spread over a wide area.
“There was a spate of home burglaries where offenders broke in to get car keys and steal cars, but those have dropped off lately,” Inspector Tysoe said. “People are becoming more security- conscious, installing CCTV and locking their doors and cars.”
Inspector Tysoe said Operation Influx, which has been running throughout the year in Whittlesea and neighbouring Darebin, was helping to reduce break-ins and vehicle-related crime.
“Although there has been a significant increase, we know [the offences] would have been higher without the operation,” he said.
In May, 54 people were arrested as part of the operation, while 17 more were arrested in June.
There was also a significant increase in thefts in Whittlesea (23.8 per cent), which Inspector Tysoe attributed to the theft of number plates and petrol across the municipality. He urged motorists to fit one-way screws to their plates to make them harder to steal.
Whittlesea’s overall crime rate rose by 19.6 per cent, higher than the state average of 13.4 per cent. Inspector Tysoe said that despite the higher-than-average increase in crime, he was confident police were working successfully with the community to prevent the numbers worsening.
Drug dealing and trafficking offences in Whittlesea soared 44.4 per cent from 119 in 2014-15 to 170 last financial year, as a result of an increased police focus on drug-related crime, while family violence incidents rose 4.1 per cent. Assaults declined by three per cent.
Sexual offences rose by close to 40 per cent. However, Inspector Tysoe said the community should not be alarmed.
He said the jump was the result of historical offences which people had only recently reported to police.
In Hume, overall crime rose 18.1 per cent.
CSA data reveals that thefts in the municipality rose 19.8 per cent, from 6144 offences in 2014-15 to 7361 in 2015-16.
Burglaries rose 14.4 per cent, while assaults and property damage offences rose 12 per cent.
Reports of robberies fell by almost 10 per cent.
