Tom Hallinan says elderly residents would be terrified if they found a burglar in their house.
By Jade Lawton
A SPATE of burglaries in Pakenham’s Henry, John, James and King streets has Tom Hallinan worried.
His house was targeted in October last year and while he managed to chase the offender out of his house and down the street, he is concerned that elderly people in the area could be terrified in a similar home invasion.
“It was a Tuesday and about 10 at night.
“I was in bed asleep and I hear footsteps up the stairwell.
“He opened my bedroom door and said, ‘sorry mate, wrong house, wrong house’,” Mr Hallinan said.
“I sprang up and went after him and he jumped the fence.”
Mr Hallinan said the thief wore a white hoodie and stole a laptop and about $300 in cash.
“He left all the lights on downstairs,” he said.
“It’s just brazen – the only thing he didn’t do was put his feet up and make a cup of tea.”
Mr Hallinan now sleeps with a cricket bat in his room for protection.
“If I’m a 35-year-old with tattoos living in a bit of fear myself … the 75-year-old lady next to me must be scared s***less,” he said.
“My concern is that a lot of elderly people live in that area, but these aggravated burglaries keep happening.
“No information is being fed to us from police, the council or the local MPs about what the hell is being done to clean up that old part of Pakenham.”
Police crime statistics show the number of residential burglaries in Cardinia Shire jumped 12.8 per cent in 2010, going against the trend in other crime categories such as assault and property damage.
Mr Hallinan said increased police patrols, more street lights, better security on rental properties and even a council pamphlet on crime prevention could help stamp out burglaries in the area.
“It just continues to happen. That burglary (in Henry Street) last week could have been next door,” he said.
“It’s quite a good place to live but I reckon if there was a vox pop of people in my area asking if they felt safe, 100 per cent would say they are afraid.”
Senior Sergeant Trevor Teer said police were aware of burglaries in the area.
“We target our patrols and units are tasked accordingly,” he said.
