A community meeting aimed at discussing a recent spate of petty crime in the Green Island area will be held tonight.
Burglaries spiked a month ago and were discussed at length on social media by concerned residents who had noticed gumboots, petrol, firewood, children's bikes and an assortment of other items going missing.
Community Constable Fred Jansen, who has worked in the area for 16 years, says the items stolen were of relatively small monetary value. However, there was concern the thieves could go on to more serious crime.
''It was a timely reminder to pull together as a community and have more than one pair of eyes out there than just police eyes.''
Const Jansen said there were still ''four or five'' unexplained burglaries, and while he had an idea of who was behind them, he was unable to comment further. The meeting will be held in the Abbotsford School hall at 7pm.
Lynda Davidson, a Green Island community worker, said Green Island was a mix of elderly long-term residents, new families buying their first homes and a growing number of work-at-home professionals living in new builds and developments.
A community crime meeting was a good opportunity to bring these groups together and get them working cohesively to make their community as safe as possible, she said.
''On Facebook there was a bit of frustration that things were being taken and nobody knew who was behind it,'' Mrs Davidson said.
''I want to see neighbours being able to help one another in times of need, and a face-to-face meeting like this really strengthens those connections.''
