{"id":108096,"date":"2025-06-30T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-29T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/?p=108096"},"modified":"2025-06-25T22:17:40","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T12:17:40","slug":"police-initiative-to-help-prevent-home-break-ins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/news\/police-initiative-to-help-prevent-home-break-ins\/","title":{"rendered":"Police initiative to help prevent home break-ins"},"content":{"rendered":"

A COMMUNITY volunteer has joined forces with the Richmond Police District crime prevention unit with a new initiative to combat home and property break-ins across the Ballina Shire.<\/p>\n

Doug Townsend is a retired police officer with 30 years’ experience who has been working in a volunteer role for the past five years.<\/p>\n

Part of his work is spent reviewing property crime reports with assistance from video footage.<\/p>\n

“I see a lot of video footage and they go from house to house until they find something unlocked, it’s a crime of opportunity,” Mr Townsend said.<\/p>\n

“Sadly, people are making it easy for the crooks by leaving doors and windows open.<\/p>\n

“If we can tighten things up there, I think it would reduce this sort of crime dramatically.”<\/p>\n

Mr Townsend said the main items taken at break-ins are cash, bank cards and cars.<\/p>\n

To help, the Richmond Police District Crime Prevention Unit is promoting an evening procedure designed to make homes and vehicles less attractive targets for opportunistic thieves.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Police volunteer is urging the Ballina community to take precautions to prevent home break-ins. Photo: SUPPLIED<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

It involves bringing valuables from cars and outdoor areas inside, removing potential climbing aids such as outside ladders and locking everything from the inside.<\/p>\n

“They’re actually going into people’s bedrooms when they’re asleep and they have no idea until they wake up the next day,” Mr Townsend said.<\/p>\n

“If you have security systems installed, remember to turn them on. “This isn’t about fear; it’s about empowerment.<\/p>\n

“By taking a few minutes each evening to follow these steps, residents can significantly reduce their vulnerability and protect their hard-earned possessions.<\/p>\n

“We believe that a vigilant and proactive community is our strongest ally in preventing crime.”<\/p>\n

The Richmond Police District reminds the community to report crime by call triple zero If it is happening at the time.<\/p>\n

To report crime confidentially, call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.<\/p>\n

The NSW Police Community Portal at portal.police.nsw.gov.au<\/a> is another resource for reporting crime.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A COMMUNITY volunteer has joined forces with the Richmond Police District crime prevention unit with a new initiative to combat home and property break-ins across the Ballina Shire. Doug Townsend is a retired police officer with 30 years’ experience who has been working in a volunteer role for the past five years. Part of his […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":234,"featured_media":108097,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-108096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPolice initiative to help prevent home break-ins - Tweed Coast Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ballina police urge residents to follow a simple evening routine to reduce home break-ins and improve community safety.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/news\/police-initiative-to-help-prevent-home-break-ins\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Police initiative to help prevent home break-ins - Tweed Coast Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ballina police urge residents to follow a simple evening routine to reduce home break-ins and improve community safety.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/news\/police-initiative-to-help-prevent-home-break-ins\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tweed Coast Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-29T18:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2025\/06\/AP1-44.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mitchell Craig\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mitchell Craig\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/tweedcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/police-initiative-to-help-prevent-home-break-ins\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/tweedcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/police-initiative-to-help-prevent-home-break-ins\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mitchell Craig\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/tweedcoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9846d5675d51069bb38b76da2cd6a7dc\"},\"headline\":\"Police initiative to help prevent home break-ins\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-29T18:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/tweedcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/police-initiative-to-help-prevent-home-break-ins\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":352,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/tweedcoasttimes\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/tweedcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/police-initiative-to-help-prevent-home-break-ins\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/30\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/AP1-44.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/tweedcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/police-initiative-to-help-prevent-home-break-ins\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/tweedcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/police-initiative-to-help-prevent-home-break-ins\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/tweedcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/police-initiative-to-help-prevent-home-break-ins\\\/\",\"name\":\"Police initiative to help prevent home break-ins - Tweed Coast Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/tweedcoasttimes\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/tweedcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/police-initiative-to-help-prevent-home-break-ins\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/tweedcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/police-initiative-to-help-prevent-home-break-ins\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/30\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/AP1-44.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-29T18:00:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Ballina police urge residents to follow a simple evening routine to reduce home break-ins and improve community safety.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/tweedcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/police-initiative-to-help-prevent-home-break-ins\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/tweedcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/police-initiative-to-help-prevent-home-break-ins\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/30\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/AP1-44.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/30\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/AP1-44.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630,\"caption\":\"Car theft is among the most common crime when homes are broken into. Photo: SUPPLIED\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/tweedcoasttimes\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/tweedcoasttimes\\\/\",\"name\":\"Tweed Coast Times\",\"description\":\"Free local news\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/tweedcoasttimes\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/tweedcoasttimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/tweedcoasttimes\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Tweed Coast Times\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/tweedcoasttimes\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/tweedcoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/30\\\/2024\\\/07\\\/TweedCoastTimesLogo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/30\\\/2024\\\/07\\\/TweedCoastTimesLogo.png\",\"width\":966,\"height\":88,\"caption\":\"Tweed Coast Times\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/tweedcoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/tweedcoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9846d5675d51069bb38b76da2cd6a7dc\",\"name\":\"Mitchell Craig\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/aeba839aff7142104a01c06e7a41f739bbe676da41a80aa4b2ad5f466caab0db?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/aeba839aff7142104a01c06e7a41f739bbe676da41a80aa4b2ad5f466caab0db?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/aeba839aff7142104a01c06e7a41f739bbe676da41a80aa4b2ad5f466caab0db?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mitchell Craig\"},\"description\":\"Times News Group journalist who covers a range of news and sport. For story ideas and news tips contact me on mitchell.craig@timesnewsgroup.com.au\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/tweedcoasttimes\\\/author\\\/mitchell\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Police initiative to help prevent home break-ins - Tweed Coast Times","description":"Ballina police urge residents to follow a simple evening routine to reduce home break-ins and improve community safety.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/news\/police-initiative-to-help-prevent-home-break-ins\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Police initiative to help prevent home break-ins - Tweed Coast Times","og_description":"Ballina police urge residents to follow a simple evening routine to reduce home break-ins and improve community safety.","og_url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/news\/police-initiative-to-help-prevent-home-break-ins\/","og_site_name":"Tweed Coast Times","article_published_time":"2025-06-29T18:00:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2025\/06\/AP1-44.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Mitchell Craig","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mitchell Craig","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/news\/police-initiative-to-help-prevent-home-break-ins\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/news\/police-initiative-to-help-prevent-home-break-ins\/"},"author":{"name":"Mitchell Craig","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/#\/schema\/person\/9846d5675d51069bb38b76da2cd6a7dc"},"headline":"Police initiative to help prevent home break-ins","datePublished":"2025-06-29T18:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/news\/police-initiative-to-help-prevent-home-break-ins\/"},"wordCount":352,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/news\/police-initiative-to-help-prevent-home-break-ins\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2025\/06\/AP1-44.jpg","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/news\/police-initiative-to-help-prevent-home-break-ins\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/news\/police-initiative-to-help-prevent-home-break-ins\/","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/news\/police-initiative-to-help-prevent-home-break-ins\/","name":"Police initiative to help prevent home break-ins - Tweed Coast Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/news\/police-initiative-to-help-prevent-home-break-ins\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/news\/police-initiative-to-help-prevent-home-break-ins\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2025\/06\/AP1-44.jpg","datePublished":"2025-06-29T18:00:00+00:00","description":"Ballina police urge residents to follow a simple evening routine to reduce home break-ins and improve community safety.","inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/news\/police-initiative-to-help-prevent-home-break-ins\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/news\/police-initiative-to-help-prevent-home-break-ins\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2025\/06\/AP1-44.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2025\/06\/AP1-44.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"Car theft is among the most common crime when homes are broken into. Photo: SUPPLIED"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/","name":"Tweed Coast Times","description":"Free local news","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/#organization","name":"Tweed Coast Times","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2024\/07\/TweedCoastTimesLogo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2024\/07\/TweedCoastTimesLogo.png","width":966,"height":88,"caption":"Tweed Coast Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/#\/schema\/person\/9846d5675d51069bb38b76da2cd6a7dc","name":"Mitchell Craig","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/aeba839aff7142104a01c06e7a41f739bbe676da41a80aa4b2ad5f466caab0db?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/aeba839aff7142104a01c06e7a41f739bbe676da41a80aa4b2ad5f466caab0db?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/aeba839aff7142104a01c06e7a41f739bbe676da41a80aa4b2ad5f466caab0db?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mitchell Craig"},"description":"Times News Group journalist who covers a range of news and sport. For story ideas and news tips contact me on mitchell.craig@timesnewsgroup.com.au","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/author\/mitchell\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/234"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108096"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108096\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108096"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/tweedcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=108096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}