In the suburbs, neighbours swap security tips as home invasion anxiety grows

Neighbours in Melbourne’s inner-suburbs, anxious after a series of reported home invasions in their area, have begun investing in increasing home-surveillance devices to prevent and deter would-be burglars.

On Friday morning, about 20 people pottered around the nature strip outside Sally Davis’ home, gathered around a white plastic foldout table displaying the Argus 3 Pro, a solar-powered domestic-style CCTV camera which retails for $219.99.

It’s an unusual way to spend the first day of a long weekend, but after a few burglaries and close calls on their Malvern East street, residents are edgy. Despite home invasion rates across the state being lower overall than 10 years ago, targeted attacks on affluent areas have left residents troubled.

“There’s a terrible unease of everyone living around here,” local, Rich, says.Credit: Penny Stephens

“The sad reality is residents must become more vigilant and take steps to protect themselves,” Davis says. “I hear so many stories of people who are genuinely frightened in their own homes.”

This footpath security conference hosted by Davis, a bubbly but strident former Stonnington councillor, is about protection and deterrence.

Last November there was a burglary just down the road that saw the residents band together in a WhatsApp group.

Brad said his home was hit in a narrow 20-minute window when his wife left to drive the kids to school. It made him think people were watching and waiting for the right moment.

“The biggest thing it’s a deterrent,” says Brad, flicking through a series of cameras sending live vision of his home straight to his phone. “We think they’re just walking down the streets, trying to open cars or find an open front door.”

He says that police told him to leave his keys near the front door so, if it happens again, intruders won’t enter a bedroom looking for them. The incident made his kids reluctant to be home alone.

“My wife’s been terrified … she doesn’t sleep,” says Rich, another neighbour.

He is considering upgrading security after, in August, he confronted an attempted intruder at 4am outside his home, who claimed they were looking for their dog.

Stonnington is in the top five local government areas for aggravated burglaries per capita in the Melbourne metropolitan area for the year to September 2023. After dipping during lockdowns, the rate has trended back up.

Crime statistics analysed by The Age support the suspicion of residents that thieves are targeting areas with higher income households.

Bayside had the most reported incidents per capita, at 177 per 100,000, followed by Boroondara at 165.3, Greater Dandenong at 150.9, Stonnington at 149.2, and Monash with 128.8. The councils of Manningham, Yarra, Kingston, Casey and Darebin rounded out the top ten.

Community concern has been compounded after two teens were charged with the murder of 33-year-old doctor Ash Gordon in Doncaster. Gordon was stabbed after allegedly chasing the pair from his home, in the council area of Manningham.

Liberal MP Georgie Crozier, too, fell victim to an attempted home invasion this week.

Sally Davis, in green, outside her home in Malvern East on Friday morning.Credit: Penny Stephens

She was asleep in her townhouse in Stonnington on Wednesday night when she was woken by a thud and an alert on her phone from her home security system.

The shadow health minister was horrified to see a man had fallen from her roof and was trying to break in. “It was terrifying,” Crozier told The Age.

She yelled out to the man that she had him on CCTV and was calling the police. Unperturbed, the thief began kicking in the front door. Police arrived quickly, but the intruder fled.

“If he had got in, you just don’t know what would have happened,” Crozier said, “when he tried to kick the door in, I realised that he wasn’t worried about me being home, he was angry.”

Crozier said some of her neighbours are now contemplating leaving the area.

“It’s a different place to what it was a few years ago. It is so prevalent, it is ridiculous,” she said.

In June last year the Crime Statistics Agency found that residential burglaries committed by 10-to-14-year-olds increased by almost 87 per cent in the 12 months to March despite overall youth offending being down by almost half over the past decade.

That contradiction forced Victoria Police deputy commissioner of regional operations Rick Nugent to suggest social media played a role in the offending, and that young offenders don’t want a confrontation, just the car keys.

“It’s this social media component to it as well. I’ve seen some of the footage. It’s quite disturbing,” he said at the time.

“The shift (in aggravated burglaries) we’ve seen is to get access to top-end cars … they don’t want a confrontation, they want to sneak in, get the keys and take the car.”

Davis tells her assembled group about an incident where a young person approached her front door also saying they had lost their dog. When pressed about where they lived, they couldn’t name a local street.

“I’m banging on his car window and saying: ‘What the hell are you doing? Who are you? What are you doing up in our driveway?’ … I’m running after him like a fish wife,” she says.

Confrontations are the exception, though, says Neighbourhood Watch Victoria chief executive Bambi Gordon.

“Home invasions, or aggravated burglaries are relatively uncommon, but they are on the increase and are obviously a real concern for Victorians,” she said.

Gordon estimates that in 98 per cent of cases the resident has no contact with the person entering their home.

Kieran Davies, the head of RACV Trades, which fits home security systems, says consumer inquiries show that people are particularly anxious about break-ins while they are at home.

“RACV is seeing inquiries from a broader range of suburbs including those historically considered ‘safer’ with the apparent mobility and speed that criminals can move around,” he said.

But Gordon urged residents against seeing CCTV as a panacea to keep them safe, saying connecting with neighbours and sharing intelligence is still the best protection.

“There is no one security measure that can prevent the crime occurring …CCTV on its own is worthwhile for investigation and prosecution, but not prevention.”

Rich and Brad, who have turned to private security measures after falling prey to break-ins.Credit: Penny Stephens

Victoria police commander Therese Fitzgerald said that while the overall number of homes being broken into remains far lower than 10 years ago, police have seen aggravated burglaries increase as youth offenders target unlocked houses to steal keys and cars.

“Unfortunately, many of the children responsible are repeat offenders who police have arrested several times,” she said.

A citywide operation has been underway since last March targeting this issue, running every night until dawn. Local police, the dog squad, Public Order Response Team officers and the Air Wing swarm hotspots, Fitzgerald says, to prevent offending and make quick arrests.

“There’s a terrible unease of everyone living around here,” Rich laments.

“We’ve got security doors and windows put on, we’ve got locks on all the gates, deadlocks on all the windows now.

“You’re living in fear.”

The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.