Australind police call for community to not leave valuables in vehicles amid rise in break-in activity

A South West Police Station has called on the community to be “smarter than our crooks” as they deal with an increase in vehicle break-ins. Australind police are asking residents to stop leaving valuable items such as wallets, handbags and electronics in their cars, which is making them a target for thieves. Officer-in-charge Sen. Sgt Heath Soutar said community members were leaving valuables “in plain sight”. “We need the public to be smarter than our crooks,” he said. “They have to be aware there are people wandering around looking for valuables.” Authorities have already made three requests so far this year on their social media pages to try to get the message across. In a video posted by Australind police earlier this year, a group of young people could be seen taking items from a white-coloured SUV which had been left unlocked overnight. The whole incident from first arrival to departure took less than 90 seconds. Sen. Sgt Soutar said CCTV footage showed offenders would often use torches or phone lights to look through vehicles at night for valuable objects. “They will look in the car and if there is nothing valuable in there, they walk away,” he said. Most of the offending are occurring in Eaton and Australind, with younger members of the community more likely to be behind the offences. Community members are also being asked to ensure their cars and homes are locked to further reduce the risk of being targeted. If the public does see any suspicious behaviour, they are asked to call police on 131 444. They are also able to voluntarily register their home CCTV systems to help authorities with criminal investigations if an act is committed close by. Residents can enter their CCTV details online at cam-mapwa.police.wa.gov.au.