‘Now we lock everything’

people – concerning especially for the elderly,’’ he said.

He thought the rate of break-ins in Blenheim had gone up and reckoned the town was no longer a place where you could leave your car unlocked. ‘‘We used to leave the car unlocked and now we lock everything,’’ Frew said. ‘‘Blenheim has grown so much as well, once upon a time you would know everybody but now you don’t.’’

Some people had received a flyer from police titled ‘‘we need your help to make our community a safer place’’, which asked residents if they had seen anything suspicious between 3am and 7am on June 4, and whether they were missing any items from their house or vehicles.

One Mowat St resident, who didn’t want to be named, said bikes had been stolen from her property on the morning of the vehicle break-ins. ‘‘I didn’t have my car locked but now I will,’’ she said.

Another resident said she had started to close her gate and switch security lights on because of what had happened, and had moved things stored in her garage away from the windows. ‘‘I was quite shocked . . . I hadn’t had any concern for security up until then,’’ she said. ‘‘The place I lived before here, in Burleigh, the back door was always unlocked,’’ she said.

‘‘I haven’t had any reason to feel unsafe up until now.’’

Nine of the vehicles targeted on June 4 were in Mowat St but properties in Girling Ave, Costello Ave and Budge St were also targeted. Blenheim police issued a statement on Thursday last week, asking anyone with information to come forward. They were hoping someone could identify two offenders captured on security camera footage. ‘‘We also want to remind people to always lock their vehicles and to never leave any valuables in their car.’’

Anyone with information about the offending could contact Blenheim police and quote the file reference 220604/5439.

‘‘We also encourage anyone who believes they have been a victim of this offending but has not yet reported it, to contact the Blenheim police or call 105.’’