Yule be sorry: Police urge Torquay people to lock their cars and houses

POLICE are urging residents and visitors to Torquay this summer to shake off the “tangible complacency” of not locking their cars and houses.

Thefts from houses and motor vehicles are a perennial issue in the town and Acting Inspector Aaron Riches said people were still not heeding the need to take responsibility for their valuables.

“There’s a tangible complacency among people on the Surf Coast to leave their cars, garages and houses unlocked, and to leave valuables lying in plain view, particularly in cars,” he said.

“In the past six months we’ve tried to educate and support our community with what not to do, I don’t know that’s necessarily been heeded.

“There’s a perception in other suburbs of the Geelong and Surf Coast PSA that the Surf Coast is easy pickings, because you’ve got this rich area where cars are unlocked and garages are unlocked. You can’t do that these days, it’s not 1970 any more.

“You interview the offenders for stealing down there, and what do they say? Torquay’s a soft touch. There’s a long way to go in that area.”

Acting Insp. Riches – who was previously a senior sergeant at the Torquay police station – said police had been active in their efforts to reach out to the community and had doubled the following on the Surf Coast Eyewatch page on Facebook from 4,000 to 8,000.

Torquay police also ran Operation Park Smart in association with the Surf Coast Neighbourhood Watch, which saw a 15 per cent reduction in theft from motor vehicles during November and December.

“But we are starting to see that flare back up as we start to see, at peak, 130,000 visitors to the Surf Coast every day,” Acting Insp. Riches said.

Operation Summersafe is now under way across the Surf Coast, Geelong and the Bellarine, with increased numbers of police patrolling the area.

The operation is focusing on underage drinking, anti-social and drunken behaviour around licensed venues and accommodation; road safety and road trauma; and the continued enforcement of the Chief Health Officer’s directions.

The higher levels of police in Torquay have already proved useful, with officers arresting four people not long after their three-hour crime spree on Saturday night and Sunday morning.

The offences included two serious assaults, several damaged motor vehicles and a series of shop thefts.

The four offenders were eating at the Torquay McDonalds – across the road from the town’s police station – when they were arrested at 6am on Sunday.

“It’s a little bit bizarre, but that’s the mentality of offenders; they don’t always think properly,” Acting Insp. Riches said.