Fed up Bonnyrigg residents resort to policing via WhatsApp

Unhappy with the response to an alleged rise in crime in their street, more than a dozen Bonnyrigg residents have resorted to self-policing over WhatsApp.

Bonnyrigg residents standing in the unfenced laneway connecting Hollows Place to Montgomery Road. Picture: Carmela Roche

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Unhappy with the response to an alleged rise in crime in their street, more than a dozen Bonnyrigg residents have resorted to self-policing over WhatsApp.

About five houses in the Hollows Place cul-de-sac have been targeted by thieves in the last two months, local residents claim.

“The first house in my street got done in 5.30pm on November 16,” said Dorde Kesic, a 38-year-old who has lived in the street for a decade. “The same day the guy came back and he was robbing another house six or seven down,” he said.

Video footage captured a man allegedly trying to open cars that do not belong to him in Hollows Place, Bonnyrigg.

Mr Kesic and other residents describe a steady run of people walking down Hollows Place, trying their luck with unlocked houses and cars, presumably hoping to score something to keep or sell.

Their account of the crime in Hollows Place contrasts with that of police records.

A spokesperson from Fairfield Police said they received seven phone calls for Hollows Place in 2018. A total of one house and two cars had items reported stolen from break-ins. One person was charged for the motor vehicle offence, they said.

But residents said the response from police has discouraged them from filing reports.

Unhappy Hollows Place residents. Picture: Carmela Roche

“They want us to call them, but when we call them they’re coming 45 minutes later,” Dharma Vinod, a 12 year resident of Hollows Place, said.

The residents blame an open alleyway at the end of their cul-de-sac, where people can flee detection and capture by sneaking out to Montgomery Road.

They asked Fairfield City Council to close off the alleyway with fencing, but their request was denied — on the grounds it provides street access to stormwater and lighting services.

However, following questioning from the Advance, a spokesman confirmed “council will conduct a safety audit of the laneway with local police”.

Fed up with the responses, 16 residents have taken to a WhatsApp group to share updates and insights on people acting suspect.

“It’s a safety thing, people keep getting robbed.” Mr Kesic said.

“I’ve seen a car parked down the road, so I went on WhatsApp and said, ‘number 39, you were about to have a break in. I stopped it. This is what happened,’ and I wrote the full story for people to know what’s going on.”

The encrypted messaging app helps the residents collectively keep an eye and ear out for trouble. They use it to identify trends and put practices in place that’ll keep not just their homes safe, but their neighbours down the road.

“If we see something, we share it with the group,” Mrs Vinod said.

“It’s like we’re looking after the neighbours.”