Unity in crime battle

WHILE the ongoing battle to curb a seemingly endless rise in burglaries continues, residents in one of Geelong’s most affluent suburbs are taking matters into their own hands.

Not in the type of vigilante activity that has popped up in other parts of Geelong over the past couple of years, but in a sort of community-led endeavour that could very well be the secret to breaking this latest scourge on our suburbs.

Newtown residents are feeling under fire, with dozens of burglaries — many of them in broad daylight — occurring in the suburb in recent weeks. And it isn’t just the Pakington St traders — such as those who featured in this paper on Friday — who are feeling the heat.

Rather, it is the homeowners and families that are increasingly finding themselves innocent victims of crime.

But rather than sitting fearfully in their homes, the people of Newtown have been spurred into action. Residents are talking, sharing information and pooling their resources. They are keeping an eye out for each other’s safety and funding each other’s security systems.

One recent burglary victim has described the spate of crime as “uniting our community”.

This kind of organic, community-led response must be music to the ears of police, who have been imploring residents to take similar proactive measures for years.

All the resourcing and police presence in the world will never be a match for good old common sense. Locking doors and windows, not leaving valuables in cars, installing timer lights and locking away tools that could be used to break into a house are among the simple safety tips police have long beseeched residents adopt to help curb the crime rate.

We know they are out there and we know they are becoming cocky. But, as the Newtown community has shown, we don’t need to sit by and cop it.

Too often we are making life far easier for the criminals than it needs to be. By joining forces and looking out for each other, the people of Newtown have given burglars a good reason to avoid their suburb.