“THE South West is still a very safe place to live,” Busselton Officer in Charge Senior Sergeant Steve Principe said despite recent community concerns posted online.
With the increasing number of Facebook community pages emerging in the South West including the Busselton and Dunsborough Community Watch pages, police are urging people not to create unnecessary fear or concern online.
Acting Officer in Charge Sergeant Todd Carrington said people needed to seriously think about their own safety before posting online.
“Police don’t monitor social media sites so calling police straight away is paramount,” he said.
Sergeant Carrington said there were do’s and dont’s when it came to posting online:
“Don’t post your specific street address or phone number, don’t post threats to or about other people, don’t identify offender’s names or addresses and don’t take the law into your own hands,” he said.
“Do make people aware of what is going on in the community, do post crime prevention tips and do make it positive to help protect the community.”
Senior Sergeant Principe said there was also a lot of talk surrounding the Busselton police station’s hours of operation.
“Even though the phones are diverted to Bunbury after 4pm, Busselton police response times are in no way affected,” he said.
“We have a very sophisticated computer dispatch system where jobs are prioritised.”
Senior Sergeant Principe added that even though the station’s doors closed at a specific time, Busselton police still provided a 24-hour service out on the roads.
“We do monitor crime trends and adjust our resources to match,” he said.
“If we see a trend occurring, we do respond and can call upon Dunsborough, Bunbury and Perth officers if need be.”
Senior Sergeant Principe added at the end of the day police needed people to use common sense and be vigilant.
For emergencies phone 000, for police attendance outside the 8am to 4pm Busselton office hours phone 131 444, or to pass on information to Crime Stoppers phone 1800 333 000.
