Residents of a suburb plagued by crime are banding together and taking action.
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They have set up the Strathfieldsaye Neighbourhood Watch to help put the brakes on car thefts and break-ins.
Co-founder Stacey Wilkinson wants to re-build community connection as crimes leave people feeling "unsafe in their own home".
"It became apparent that these youths were coming into our area, probably four nights a week, between 2am and 4am," Ms Wilkinson said.
"And then two cars across the road from me were stolen. So I thought, 'it is right across the road from me'."
Ms Wilkinson is not alone. Residents have been sharing their concerns via a community Facebook group.
Branch co-founder Alycia Hatzi's home was broken into on Christmas night.
She knows of neighbours who have bought security cameras and slept with their lights on.
"We had even considered a private security patrol to be funded by us," Ms Hatzi said.
"And we shared our story to our neighbourhood Facebook group, and other people said 'yep that happened to me too'."
200 people attend community safety meeting
The concerns prompted a meeting at Bradie's Tavern in February. Two hundred people across Bendigo aired their concerns about a perceived uptick in crime.
"One of the key actions from the meeting was to investigate setting up a Neighborhood Watch committee," Ms Wilkinson said.
"So it is not a question about if we are going to do it or not. We are setting up a formal Neighborhood Watch group."
Community connection a bonus
The Strathfieldsaye Neighbourhood Watch is currently the only one of its type in Bendigo, after the most recent committee ceased three years ago.
"Our goal is about safety and awareness," Ms Hatzi said.
"It is a bit of a reminder to go back to basics. Lock up your home, tighten up our security so these people stop and move on."
As much as getting back a sense of security is important, the two women said community connection would be an added bonus.
"In this day and age you can live in your home for years without even knowing your next door neighbor. We want to change that," Ms Wilkinson said.
That also worked two-fold in stamping out break-ins, she said.
"When you're walking down the street, you might say 'hi' to those you have become familiar with through the group," Ms Wilkinson said.
"Then in turn the community will be safer because you might say to each other 'I'm going away next weekend. Can you keep an eye on my house?'"
A Strathfieldsaye Neighbourhood Watch information session is being organised for the St Francis of the Fields Primary School Community Centre at 6.15pm on Wednesday, March 13. Register your interest here.
