Busselton residents have been taking to community Facebook pages saying “crime is worse than ever”.
However, the “hysteria” contradicts recent crime figures released by police.
As a result of the hype on social media, a petition has started calling for a 24 hour police station in Busselton.
The demand for a 24 hour police station has been ongoing for years and local politicians have failed to get approval from the state government.
Former Vasse MP and treasurer Troy Buswell started the campaign and current MP Libby Mettam highlighted it as a priority in the 2014 by-election.
Busselton police Senior Sergeant Steve Principe said as the station approached the end of the 2014-15 financial year there had been a reduction in crime of 15 per cent.
“On some Facebook community sites there is valuable information but then there are those that seem to encourage a level of hysteria without much regard to what is happening in reality,” Senior Sergeant Steve Principe said.
Police measure crime figures in financial years with statistics showing crime in Busselton being reduced two years in a row.
Senior Sergeant Steve Principe said sometimes the city might get a spate of criminal activity.
Senior Sergeant Principe said an example of this was earlier in the week when vehicles were targeted in Broadwater and Abbey.
He said most of the vehicles broken into were unlocked and had items of value in sight.
“You could argue that if the vehicles were locked and there we no items of value in sight they would not be targeted,” Senior Sergeant Principe said.
Busselton police recently made a plea to residents to leave personal belongings out of sight and lock vehicles.
“For numerous years this request has been made but in general this advice seems to be ignored until someone becomes a victim of crime,” he said.
Senior Sergeant Principe said community members were responsible for their own personal security and shouldn’t expect police to do this for them.
“It would be too much considering the policing responsibilities and activities we undertake in the community,” he said.
