Collie Police have urged residents to stay safe over the festive season, whether you’re going away or staying at home.
Senior Sergeant Heath Soutar said the Christmas and New Year period often resulted in an increase in burglaries, with many houses left vacant while families go away.
He said it was important to make it ‘tougher for crooks’ by not making your house an easy target.
Some of the suggestions from police include installing security alarms and activating them when you leave, not leaving valuables within sight of windows, keeping windows and doors locked, leaving spare keys with neighbours or family rather than outside the front door and installing motion sensor lights around your property.
He also said at Christmas time, it was important to crush any boxes from large appliances or valuables when putting them into the bin, so you’re not advertising what you have.
Senior Sergeant Soutar said it made it tougher for crooks to target your house if you don’t broadcast that you’re on holiday on social media.
He said houses were targetted more often when it was clear the owner wasn’t home, so getting someone else to collect your mail or Australia Post to hold on to it was also important.
Senior Sergeant Soutar said it was also important for people staying home over the Christmas and New Year period to stay safe during ‘party season’.
“With party season coming up, it’s really important that everyone is properly prepared and considerate of their neighbours around them,” he said.
Anyone throwing a party, particularly those involving teenagers, can register their party online at the WA Police website.
Senior Sergeant Soutar said it was vital that any parties were supervised by a responsible adult and that Collie Police would be shutting down any parties where the was underage drinking.
He also said music was often an issue around this time of year and that anyone playing music should be mindful of how it will effect others in the area.
“There’s a myth that music can played until a certain time of the night, but that’s not true,” he said.
“We can come and assess the sound level of music being played at any time of the day and have it turned off if it is causing a disturbance to anyone else.
“We really recommend you do your prior preparation and let all your neighbours know if you’re going to have a party and play music, it’s always easier that way.”
He also said police would have an ‘increased presence’ on the roads, with particular focus on getting drink-drivers and other unsafe drivers off the roads.
