POLICE have urged Brimbank residents to report suspicious behaviour in their neighbourhoods after a sharp rise in residential burglaries.
New Victoria Police statistics reveal 17,083 offences were recorded in Brimbank between April last year and March this year, up from the 15,530 for April 2010-March 2011.
Residential burglaries increased 61 per cent from the previous year.
Drug offences and family violence were also on the rise, while property damage offences were down 5.6 per cent.
Acting Inspector Mick Shaughnessy said residential burglaries had been an ongoing issue for police and they were working hard to address the problem.
He said the region was undergoing a restructure of its crime teams to better investigate these offences.
“The criminal investigation units at Sunshine and Melton will now have burglary investigation teams included under the direction of a detective senior sergeant,” Acting Inspector Shaughnessy said.
“Expansion of our CIU and implementation of an improved tasking and co-ordination model for the police service area will allow us to better analyse and interpret our operations intelligence and more effectively task operations toward reducing our crime.”
Superintendent Rick Nugent said the rise in residential burglaries could in part be put down to rising living costs and unemployment.
Residents should report any suspicious activity to police, providing details of people and vehicles involved.
Acting Inspector Shaughnessy said road fatalities and injuries also remained a concern.
“I would urge drivers to refrain from using mobile phones while driving and concentrate at all times,” he said.
