A spate of burglaries in Cobram during the past few months has added to the steady increase in criminal activity in Moira Shire — a 9.6 per cent increase for the year ending March 2020 according to the Crime Statistics Agency Data.
And it is homes and businesses that are left to pick up the pieces after an alarming number of robberies.
Recently, Providing All Living Supports (PALS) was broken into three times in less than six months, while Cobram Scout Hall and Youth Op Shop were targeted by thieves in early July — just to name a few.
Additionally, a multitude of home burglaries have occurred in 2020 so far, pointing to a rise in criminal incidents in Cobram for the fifth year in a row.
Cobram Criminal Investigation Unit officer-in-charge Detective Sergeant Marcus Boyd assured the community these crimes were not being taken lightly.
“Our detectives place a continual focus on these types of burglaries,” he said.
“We are always concerned with commercial break-ins, there is a real focus on that in this office — not only because of the businesses impacted but the people’s livelihoods as well.
“In my mind there is no doubt there is a direct correlation between these burglaries and the use and trafficking of drugs; it all goes hand in hand.
“I can reassure the public we are investing a lot of effort into this sort of activity.”
Although Cobram CIU has had success in solving a number of cases throughout the past year, the alarming rate of burglaries is nearly impossible for the unit to keep up with.
Det Sgt Boyd mentioned Cobram CIU had charged someone for the first PALS break-in, while the other two remained unsolved.
But help is on the way.
“We will have three extra detectives joining us in Cobram during the calendar year. We have already got one of them working,” Det Sgt Boyd said.
“We will have another one signed on in October, which means our office strength will be doubled.
“More uniform officers will be coming into the Moira Shire as a result of the border closure, meaning we will be able to put more effort into stopping this type of criminal activity.”
With frontline services in Wangaratta dealing with forensics for the break-ins, Det Sgt Boyd touched on the fact Cobram police were constantly liaising with criminal investigation units in other border communities in order to build a bigger database — and in doing so, greatly increasing the chance of catching the criminals inflicting reckless damage on the community.
“Any burglary is taken seriously of course, and we look to solve every one of them, but this is not always possible,” he said.
“Rest assured, my detectives are continuing to knock on doors and executing search warrants to find out who is doing this.
“We aim to bring closure to the victims of these burglaries, which is the most important part of the job.”
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