Funding To Cut Burglaries In Lake Macquarie

BY IAN CROUCH

The state government is proving almost $50,000 to Lake Macquarie Council to help cut the number of break-ins to homes.

Council will use the money for a crime prevention program which targets break-and-enter hot spots.

The funding is part of the $500,000 Safer Community Compact grants to help councils across NSW deliver grassroots solutions to crime.

"It's about empowering residents, there is a bit of that aspect to it, but it's really about improving community awareness and what you can do to protect your own home," Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter, Scot MacDonald says.

Residents will be shown how to use engraving tools to mark their valuables while 100 DataDot kits will be distributed which helps police in identifying, tracking and returning stolen property.

Fifty property marking kits will also be given away to residents whose homes are considered at risk of being broken into.

The latest crime statistics shows that the rate of burglaries in Lake Macquarie has dropped over the past four years, however there were still 734 recorded break-and-enters on homes in 2016.

Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Scot MacDonald Announcing Crime Prevention Funding with Lake Macquarie City Council CEO Morven Cameron and Mayor Cr Kay Fraser