A PARTNERSHIP between Belmont Police and the City of Belmont has helped reduce burglary offences and car thefts in the area by 17.7 per cent and 36.2 per cent respectively.
Despite this reduction, general stealing was higher with 1262 thefts from motor vehicles, or 3.46 cars a day.
Here are the top five ways they reduced these crimes:
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READ NOW- Community watch patrols crime “hot-spots”
- Offenders are identified via CCTV
- Residents share crime information on social media
- Community members are vigilant
- Police report crime statistics online
Police have been responsible for managing criminal activity and reporting statistics online on social media platforms such as Twitter to raise awareness.
Belmont chief executive John Christie said the use of social media encouraged community members to be vigilant and demonstrated the outcomes of current police measures.
“Community social media activity can be very effective; however it must be used responsibly as an information sharing tool,” Mr Christie said.
“The more members of the community that can be encouraged to report suspicious activity and crime to police, the better.”
WA Police have been regularly identifying offenders through the use of CCTV provided by the City of Belmont.
The council is contributing $100,000 towards CCTV footage for the 2018-19 financial year.
City of Belmont Community Watch patrols that target ‘hot spot’ crime locations identified by police assist in bringing offenders to justice.
Residents have also spread awareness and contributed to the reduced crime in Belmont with the Facebook group Belmont (WA) Community Watch, a tool that encourages the reporting of criminal activity and informs the community of suspicious behaviour.