Connecting people and communities Footscray, Yarraville, Braybrook
Incorporating Star Real Estate
Tuesday, 11 February, 2014
A Star News Group publication Phone: 9933 4800
No. 566 50c inc. GST
Dogs on parade e
Summer delights
What’s On in the West
West success
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SPORT
Car theft crime By CHARLENE MACAULAY LOCK up your cars - the City of Maribyrnong has been named as one of the top 50 areas in Australia for short term car theft. The National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council’s motor vehicle theft report shows Mairbyrnong ranked 50th for short term car thefts and 48th for profit-based car thefts in the country, with 340 vehicles stolen from the area over the 2012-13 financial year. Short term theft represents cars stolen by opportunistic thieves to use in other crimes or joy riding and are always recovered by police. Profit motivated theft represents cars that are stolen to be sold off as a whole or for spare parts. Footscray Police Inspector Tony Long said it was disappointing to see Maribyrnong on the list. “It is important to note that we have been working very hard on reducing the number of vehicle crime offences here in Maribyrnong,” he said. “We have a specific team of police, the Crime Impact Team, which work specifically on vehicle related crime. “They have had great success and when coupled with the efforts of all our other works units, we have been able to reduce vehicle theft by
over 35 per cent.” Insp Long said the low socioeconomic status of the municipality, combined with the high rate of university students meant that there were older cars on the City of Maribyrnong’s roads, which were easier to break into than newer models. The report found that 48 per cent of all vehicle thefts in Australia took place in residential dwellings, up from 43 per cent over 2008-09. Insp Long said there were a number of steps drivers could take to prevent vehicle theft. “Firstly, keep your car locked you’d be surprised how many people forget this basic step to prevent access to their car. “If the vehicle is parked at home, obviously the best place is in a locked garage. If that’s not possible, a vehicle parked up a driveway, preferably behind locked gates is next best and if you can, fit an alarm and immobiliser. “The cost of these additions can be prohibitive, so if that’s out of your reach you can’t beat the plain old fashioned Club Lock. It’s cheap, needs no professional fitting and it works.”
Love letters
TWO Melbourne artists will be busy playing Cupid at Highpoint Shopping Centre this week. Kate Pullen, pictured, and Gaston Castagnet will create free handcrafted love notes for customers wanting to put a special touch on their Valentine’s Day gifts. Ms Pullen, who is a graphic designer, illustrator and typographer, said some couples struggle to find the right words to express their love for each other. “We’re not all Jane Austen-style romantics, so we’ll be lending customers a hand to help them communicate a message of love in an original and inspired way,” she said. “It’s so nice to get a card and letter that has been handwritten - the effort and thought is lovely.” The artists will be available this Thursday and Picture: DAMJAN JANEVSKI Friday outside David Jones on Level 2. 114176
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