Cops say crime unreported

Police are “fed up” with crimes in Margaret River continually being reported on social media and not to authorities.

Several car break-ins have been reported on Facebook community groups during the past three weeks, but officer-in-charge Sergeant Brett Cassidy said he was only aware of “a few of them”.

“If people aren’t reporting crime to us, then there’s nothing we can do,” he said. “I don’t sit there reading through Facebook — I get my information from people making contact with us.

“If you’re using social media as a platform for reporting crimes, then don’t expect to get anywhere.”

Sgt Cassidy said all reports were taken seriously and helped police know which areas of the town to target.

“We will still patrol certain areas at night and on the weekend, but if we aren’t being made aware of criminal activity, regardless of how severe the crime is, then we simply cannot do anything.”

Sgt Cassidy added most of the break-ins were cars left unlocked.

“If your car is locked, and someone breaks in by smashing a window, we have more of a chance of finding the offender because there is forensic evidence,” he said.

“If your car is locked, it deters offenders, but if it’s opened, it’s an easy target.”

Sgt Cassidy encouraged residents to install CCTV cameras on their property to deter criminals.