A SPATE of break-ins around a Mount Martha “hot spot” has residents calling for more intensive policing.
In recent weeks the number of houses around the Hearn Road area that have been targeted has put home owners on alert.
Mount Martha resident Sonia said residents were sick of the crime and the inability to stop the offenders, who had been caught on CCTV and appeared to be teenagers or young men.
“In December, January and this month there have been a lot of properties affected. I know of people in Capri Drive, Shearwater Drive, The Point, Churchill, Stanley, Ponyara Road and others around the hill area,” she said.
“They have been targeting us for weeks … early hours …. police are patrolling and trying to identify them”.
Sonia said police were trying, but were probably under resourced.
“People need to be aware this is happening, and be alert … have security and just be aware,” she said.
MP for Eastern Victoria Region Renee Heath late last year called on the Minister for Correction Anthony Carbines to address the crime rate.
Heath said a rise in crime over summer had signalled the need for more police on the Mornington Peninsula.
Carbines said the police commissioner recognised that highly visible proactive policing operations – ensuring police officers were on the frontline, responding to calls for assistance – would best address crime and keep communities safe.
He said the 2022-23 state budget included an extra $600 million, of which $342 million was for an additional 502 police officers.
Carbines said the extra police was on top of the more than 3600 additional police already on the frontline financed as part of the Allan Labor government’s record $4.5 billion investment in Victoria Police.
“I encourage you to remind your constituents that they should continue to call triple zero (000) for emergencies or the police assistance line (131 444) or online reporting service for non-urgent reports”.
Victoria Police was contacted for comment.
First published in the Mornington News – 20 February 2024