Neighbourhood Watch: STN 1 South Yarra
Region 1 Division 2
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Newsletter February, 2005 Therefore, Burglary - the not so
silent theft The Victorian Crimes Act of
1958 defines it as follows - 76. Burglary (1) A person is guilty of
burglary if he enters any building or part of a building as a trespasser with
intent— (a) to steal anything in the
building or part in question; or (b) to commit an
offence— (i)
involving an assault to a person in the building or part in question; or (ii) involving
any damage to the building or to property in the building or part in question—
which is punishable with imprisonment for a term of five years or more. (2) References in sub-section
(1) to a building shall apply also to an inhabited vehicle or vessel, and
shall apply to any such vehicle or vessel at times when the person having a habitation
in it is not there as well as at times when he is. (3) A person guilty of
burglary is guilty of an Indictable offence and liable to level 5 Imprisonment
(10 years maximum). 77. Aggravated burglary (1) A person is guilty of
aggravated burglary if he or she commits a burglary and (a) at the time has with him
or her any firearm or imitation firearm, any offensive weapon or any
explosive or imitation explosive; or (b) at
the time of entering the building or the part of the building a person was
then present in the building or part of the building and he or she knew that
a person was then so present or was reckless as to whether or not a person
was then so present. 78. Removal of articles from places open to the public (1) Subject to sub-sections
(2) and (3), where the public have access to a building in order to view the
building or part of it, or a collection or part of a collection housed in it,
any person who without lawful authority removes from the building or its
grounds the whole or part of any article displayed or kept for display to the
public in the building or that part of it or in its grounds shall be guilty
of an offence. For this purpose
"collection" includes a collection got together for a temporary purpose,
but references in this section to a collection do not apply to a collection
made or exhibited for the purpose of effecting sales or other commercial
dealings. (2) It is immaterial for
purposes of sub-section (1) that the public's access to a building is limited
to a particular period or particular occasion, but where anything removed
from a building or its grounds is there otherwise than as forming part of, or
being on loan for exhibition with, a collection intended for permanent
exhibition to the public, the person removing it does not thereby commit an offence
under this section unless he removes it on a day when the public have access
to the building as mentioned in sub-section (1). (3) A person does not commit
an offence under this section if he believes that he has lawful authority for
the removal of the thing in question or that he would have it if the person entitled
to give it knew of the removal and the circumstances of it. (4) A person guilty of an
offence under this section is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to
level 6 imprisonment (5 years maximum). In recognising the relevant
sections applicable to burglary offences, it is important to acknowledge the
amendments to the Crimes Act in September of 1997:- Subsection (b) of Section 77
added a dimension to the charge of Aggravated Burglary. A person now commits
the crime of aggravated burglary when he enters premises where the owner is
present either in the premises or within the grounds of the premises. The victim and the offender
need not come in contact with each other for this offence to have occurred. The consequence of this change
was that the figures for aggravated burglary offences were dramatically
increased for the year following the addition to this section, 1998 to 1999. For
this reason the data from 2002/2003 is justifiably comparable with the data
from 1998/1999 onwards. Section 78 refers to the
specific crime of theft of items, goods, articles which form part of a collection
or product that is housed specifically for the public to attend and view. A
specific situation which would not constitute a crime under this section
would be theft from a church. Whilst it is understood that a church remains
open to the public to attend, items and artefacts contained within are not
placed there specifically for viewing but as an adornment or accompaniment to
the aesthetics of the interior of the building. This section more aptly
applies to museums or specific displays of art or other collectables housed
either permanently or temporarily in a designated venue.
In 25% of all burglaries there
is no sign of forced entry - burglars just walk in! Burglars look for the easiest
target – they want to get in and out quickly. Breaching a lock takes
time, so locks deter burglars. Install deadlocks on all
external doors and keyed locks on all windows; lock up when you leave, even
if only for a few minutes. (But remember: don't engage the deadlocks while
you're in the house - this may be hazardous in the event of a fire.) Security screens allow you to
look out but prevent intruders from seeing in. A good quality screen door can
put a locked barrier between you and a stranger. Burglars seek out empty houses
because there's less chance they'll get caught. When you're not at home, make
it look like somebody's there Some tips to mislead
them Leave a radio on, tuned to a
talkback station. If you're out for the evening,
leave some lights on and close the curtains. If you're going on holiday:
cancel your newspaper. Have a trusted neighbour or
relative empty your letterbox and take your bin out (even if it's empty!) and
in again Hang some old clothes on the
line, leave old shoes outside the front door Divert your home phone number
to your mobile Organise a house-sitter if
you're away for an extended period of time. Never let people know when
your home will be empty - don't let burglars "book you in" Avoid giving away information
in person, in writing or through your answering machine message. Avoid leaving invitations or
notes about holidays in plain view (stuck on the fridge, next to the phone,
up on a whiteboard). This advertises when your house will be empty. On your answering machine say
"We can't come to the phone right now" rather than "I'm on
holidays and will be back on…". If you live alone, say "We can't come to the phone right
now" rather than "I can't come to the phone right now". Avoid advertising your
expensive purchases. Boxes left on the nature strip let burglars know what's
new in your house (DVD player, computer, etc). Cut boxes into pieces before
recycling. Don't let burglars use your
spare key. Burglars will always look for hidden keys so leave keys with a
trusted neighbour or friend instead. A low fence or one that can be
seen through lets your neighbours spot something that's out of place, like a stranger
in your garden. (A high fence that can't be seen through might provide privacy
- but once the burglar is behind that, they're hidden from view.) Keep trees and shrubs trimmed
low. Motion-activated lighting puts
a spotlight on burglars. If offenders think they've been discovered it’s
more probable they will leave Marked property is much harder
for burglars to re-sell - and even if a burglar steals a marked item, it's
much easier for you to identify what's yours. Mark your property using an
engraving pen (available from hardware and office supply stores) or
ultra-violet markers ( now available at all Good Guys Stores around Next Meeting Acknowledgement: |
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Last modified 31 May 2005.