Australind Police make plea for improved personal security after spate of night-time robberies in Eaton

A spate of robberies taking place under the cover of darkness has led Australind police to issue a stern warning to residents to lock their doors and take responsibility for their personal security.

The message comes after a string of attacks, targeting mostly unlocked homes, cars and sheds in Eaton, which police say have been carried out by juveniles.

Australind police Sen. Const. Dane Stephens said residents could play their part to keep their property safe and urged them to remain vigilant.

“Members of the public have just got to be aware of their personal security and make it hard for offenders to access their homes, their cars and their sheds,” he said.

“We have had the problem of all these locations being left secure, especially the parked vehicles. It makes it easy for the offenders to access these personal items.”

Sen. Const. Stephens said additional measures, including bringing personal belongings inside at night, should also be taken to discourage would-be offenders.

“We are trying to encourage people to not leave their wallets, purses and things like mobile phones in the vehicles at all,” he said.

“If you can get your vehicles behind a gate or a locked garage that would be even better.”

With most of the attacks happening in the early hours of the morning, police are also calling on residents to install their own CCTV cameras, to protect their homes and help with investigations.

“It is usually hours of darkness, so they are normally roaming the streets any time after 10pm but we are seeing a pattern that it is occurring between four in the morning until about sunrise when people are in a deep sleep,” Sen. Const. Stephens said. “We are also pushing for people to try and get CCTV cameras up too.

“There are a few people getting them now — it does help us because we can create a public link where people can upload all that vision and we can view it around the time the offences happen.

“We find the CCTV cameras are really good and getting a lot cheaper as well.”