Police will ramp up their presence in parts of Whittlesea on Thursday and Friday in a bid to reduce residential burglaries and vehicle-related crimes.
As part of Operation Influx, the Victoria Police Mounted Branch, Operational Response Unit and transit and general duties police will hit the streets to raise awareness about some of the most common crimes in the community.
Superintendent Tim Hansen said pockets of Whittlesea were seeing some of the highest rates of vehicle crime thefts and burglaries.
During the day, police will be on the streets speaking to people about home and car security and a mobile police facility will be set up at University Hill, Bundoora.
After dark, an increased number of police will be deployed to problem areas and hotspots.
Police will also be increasing their presence in Darebin.
In 2015, there were 1577 burglaries reported in Whittlesea, up from 1321, making burglaries the main crime affecting residents.
Superintendent Hansen said Whittlesea was a safe place to live and that the operation was about sending a message that the community had no tolerance for these sort of crimes.
“We plan to saturate the area with police resources to highlight the major drivers of crime in our community,” he said.
“These offences contribute to more serious levels of harm across the broader community. We know the proceeds from the sale of valuables stole from motor vehicles may go to fund drug use. That in itself increases the demand for the cultivation and trafficking of drugs.
“We also know that in many cases credit cards are stolen which are used in further offending.”
