A community meeting to discuss rural crime in the area was held at the Cobar Bowling & Golf Club on Monday night.
As part of Operation High Ground, which targets rural crime, the informal meeting led by Cobar Police Sergeant John Bennett and Senior Constable Christie Greshner, was an opportunity to update the public on what police have been doing since the operation commenced in April this year.
Sergeant Bennett said 36 rural crime events have been reported to police this year; 12 people have come forward with information to try and combat rural crime; police have carried out 71 active patrols in the shire since April; and 11 charges and four infringement notices have been issued to 10 offenders.
Sergeant Bennett said there were a number of ways landholders could help police to detect rural crime.
“Report all incidents and any information that might help police. ‘If we don’t know about it, we can’t resource it’ is the message police are trying to get across,” Sergeant Bennett said.
Other ways to deter rural crime include: installing trail cameras at problem sites and providing photos of suspicious vehicles and people on their properties; ensuring all firearms are securely stored and, if landholders are not on site 24/7, they should store their firearms off site; keep serial numbers and photos of vehicles and property so that if they are stolen and recovered they can be returned.
