By XAVIER SMERDON
HOUSING construction companies are taking extreme measures to try and curb the rising number of thefts from their properties, even installing hidden cameras and GPS tracking units on appliances, according to police.
North West Metropolitan Crime Prevention Officer, Leading Senior Constable Craig McDonald, told Star that thefts on houses under construction was likely to become one of the most reported crimes in Wyndham.
“Because of the growth in the area, we’re only going to see it getting worse,” Ldg Sen Const McDonald said.
He said that Point Cook had recently been identified as the worst area for crimes on houses under construction, followed by other growth areas like Williams Landing, Tarneit and Truganina, but a lack of reporting to police made it difficult to obtain accurate data.
“The biggest hot spot is Point Cook, but that just means it’s where the crimes are most reported,” he said.
“The frustrating thing for us is that construction companies may not be reporting thefts straight away. Sometimes they sit on them for ages, which makes it more difficult for us to catch the people who did it.
“We want them to report the crime the day it happened.”
Leading Sen Const McDonald said a “high percentage” of thefts were committed by tradespeople on the very houses they had been working on.
“The construction companies know it’s happening and they want to see it stopped too,” he said.
“We’ve seen them start to use a lot of electronic equipment which takes five minutes to fit but can help us catch the thieves.”
Police have started giving information packs to home owners, tradespeople and neighbours on what they should do if they see any suspicious behaviour.
Leading Sen Const McDonald said neighbours needed to be more proactive.
“It seems to get accepted by people, but what we want to say is that during the night there shouldn’t be anybody in the houses so if they see something they need to report it,” he said.
“The neighbours are our eyes and ears out here.
“A house usually gets broken into when it’s almost ready to be handed over to the new owner so it can be very costly and cause a lot of delays for people.
“It’s not good for anybody.”
Anyone that witnesses suspicious behaviour near a house under construction should call 000 and provide the most accurate description of people or vehicles possible.
