Police are again urging residents to secure their homes after a number of unlawful entries at the weekend.

Detective Sergeant Trent Abbott  of the Property Crime Reduction Unit said the majority of the unlawful entries occurred in the Gillen area.

“Since Friday we received 14 reports of unlawful entries throughout Alice Springs and what is particularly disturbing is at least five of them were through unlocked doors,” Det Sgt Abbott said.

“In one incident in Nicker Crescent a man was watching TV just before 1am on Sunday when a male simply walked into the unit through an unlocked door. Fortunately he fled when he saw the occupant.

“A woman had her handbag stolen after an unlawful entry in Milner Road  on Saturday night.  Once again the offender simply walking into the house through an unlocked door.

“And money and a laptop were stolen after an offender walked into a residence in Gap Road on Saturday night through an unlocked door.

“Then in two similar incidents in Sadadeen, thieves walked into residences in Kilgariff Crecent  and Plumbago Crescent through unlocked doors, stole sets of keys and then stole cars parked in the driveways. Luckily both vehicles have since been recovered, but this goes to show how blatant these offenders are and how much more vigilant we, in the community, need to be to protect our property.

“We would also like to appeal to people to keep an eye out for their neighbour’s property, especially when they’re not home. It was just this sort of vigilance that led to the arrest of two males who were caught red-handed trying to unlawfully enter a unit in Wade Court on Sunday night.

“The next-door-neighbour knew the tenant was out of town and became suspicious when he saw two males entering the property. He went to check and apprehended the pair and called police.”

Anyone who notices suspicious behaviour in their neighbourhood is asked to call police on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Media Contact
Theresa Kuilboer
8951 8825