POLICE and the City of Greater Bendigo have highlighted the perils of under reporting rural crime following discussions at a committee meeting.
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‘Report, report, report’ – that’s the mantra council’s community partnerships manager, Steven Abbott is hopeful members of the farming community will adopt.
“The only way additional resources are going to be justified is if evidence in reporting demonstrates the need for an additional response,” Mr Abbott said.
Federation University criminal justice senior lecturer Dr Alistair Harkness said studies had found up to half of farmers would not report thefts and other crimes that happened on their properties.
“Farmers should be actively encouraged to report, even if it’s only partial information,” he said.
“If everybody does that, police will be able to build up an awareness of what might be happening in the local community.”
Rural crime was raised as a point of interest during the City of Greater Bendigo Farming Advisory Committee’s meeting this week.
Bendigo Acting Inspector Leesa Johnson and Leading Senior Constable Dan O’Bree, the region’s agriculture liaison officer – were among those in attendance.
Topics such as the police presence in rural and regional communities and understanding of agricultural crime stimulated discussion.
Inspector Johnson highlighted a range of avenues available to people in rural areas to report crime, including phoning or visiting a police station in their vicinity.
“Areas that have single police members, that member doesn’t police it on their own,” Inspector Johnson said.
She said one-member stations worked as part of a cluster of stations with a range of hours and staffing.
“They do service those areas when a member is not working,” Inspector Johnson said.
Though police played a critical role in responding to crime, Mr Abbott said the city was also keen to focus on prevention.
”A strong sense of community in your neighbourhood or district is the best form of prevention,” he said.
He said there were examples of social media playing a positive role in helping bridge the physical distance between residents in some parts of the municipality.
Dr Harkness, who has twice been a part of the region’s Farm Security Expo, highlighted the role technologies such as CCTV could play in crime prevention.
“Be vigilant, put in place as many crime prevention measures as you can,” he said.
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