A spate of aggravated burglaries across the western suburbs has prompted a police inspector to call for calm.
Inspector Wayne Newman said police understood the community was feeling fearful.
“But we want to assure you that we are focused on tackling this issue,” he said.
“We’re making progress and making arrests. Day and night patrols are also being conducted at high-risk locations to prevent offences taking place.”
Inspector Newman, officer in charge of the north-west metro crime team, said the community needed to assist police in preventing theft by not leaving valuables in cars, securing keys, locking cars and parking in well-lit areas.
He advised people to consider locking car doors when driving and to always be aware of their surroundings.
While the burglaries were confronting, Inspector Newman said, “We’re confident we’re on top of it. While recently there has been an increase in these types of offences, please be assured they’re not everyday occurrences”.
His comments come as police charged four teenagers over an aggravated burglary and theft of a motor vehicle from a Williams Landing home about 4.30am on Sunday. Police say they spotted the vehicle in Point Cook about 12.20am on Monday and followed it to Carlton where it was intercepted and four teenagers arrested.
A 14-year-old South Morang boy and a Keilor Downs youth, 17, were both charged with single counts of theft of a motor vehicle. They were bailed to appear before a children’s court on August 19.
As well, a 14-year-old Carlton North boy and 15-year-old Richmond boy have been charged and remanded in custody for theft of a motor vehicle. They will reappear in court on July 15 and 29 respectively.
The Wyndham crime investigation unit is investigating a separate aggravated burglary at a Point Cook home at 3am on Tuesday. A BMW and a Mercedes were stolen from the property. A handbag and laptop were also taken.
At the time Star Weekly went to print, the cars were still missing and no arrests had been made.
