October 2022 Bulletin

Crime Intelligence

In October the Bellerive CIB reported they had charged three men in their 20s with multiple offences in Midway Point over the course of a weekend. Their crimes included burglary, stealing and motor vehicle stealing. The significant feature of these thefts was that the majority of vehicles had been left unlocked. Property stolen included loose change, mobile phones, GPS devices, Ipods, wallets and laptops.

National research has confirmed that for every 10 vehicles stolen in Australia, seven of them have been stolen with the keys! National research has also identified that an active Neighbourhood Area can reduce crime by up to 26%.

To further relate these theft experiences to Tasmania, our most recent research took a sample of a large town in southern Tasmania and examined the crime reports from January to July 2022. Several key trends were identified; the prevalence of property not being locked or secured; building sites being regularly targeted; and power tools/building materials being commonly stolen items. Approximately 17per cent of all incidents reported involved unlocked or unsecured property. Three vehicles were stolen with the keys in the ignition!!

If you are interested in a bit more detail, here are some more of the examples:

• Entire plumbing that was stored in an unlocked garage, stolen from residence under construction
• Cash stolen from an unlocked office of a business
• Building site entered, power tools not locked up were stolen
• Entry to a house through an unlocked window, white/electrical goods and a vehicle stolen
• Chainsaws stolen from open, unlocked sheds and from the back tray of a vehicle