THE statistics might show that burglaries have reduced to levels not seen since 2015, but the facts remain that three homes are broken into every day in Ballarat.
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And for victims, the horror of, in most cases, of returning home to find your house ransacked remains long after the initial shock.
One victim who contacted The Courier this week after the latest Crime Statistic Agency figures were released on Thursday, said the shock and trauma was something she never thought she’d be dealing with.
The victim, who asked not to be named, said she was working night shift as a nurse at Ballarat Base Hospital on Tuesday night this week when her home in Ballarat East was broken into.
“Honestly, you see Australia as being so safe, then you come home and something like this has happened, it makes you feel so scared,” she said.
“I’m frightened they will come back. It’s so hard to describe the trauma, knowing that people have been in your house and have been through your things.
“I’m scared to go back, I’ve gone down to Ararat to be with my family. I haven’t even been through everything yet to see what was taken.”
In this case the victim said she had her television, Playstation 3, an iPhone, an unopened bottle of Scotch she received for her 21st birthday and jewellery among the items stolen.
“The jewellery is the hardest thing to deal with,” she said. “A lot of it was incredibly sentimental.
“I had a complete Pandora bracelet which was full of charms which people had bought for me over the years, I had a necklace my brother had given me, another beautiful bracelet, a ring.
“Everything meant something special to me, to see them taken, it’s such a traumatic thing.”
I’m frightened they will come back. It’s so hard to describe the trauma, knowing that people have been in your house and have been through your things.
- Ballarat burglary victim
Inspector Trevor Cornwill said while police were happy to see a reduction in numbers, more work was always needed.
“We’re still concerned at the overall numbers and we are addressing that,” he said.
”It’s important we work hard to help the community to feel safe. Your home is supposed to be your sanctuary, and it is an invasion of privacy coupled with the trauma and stress it puts the victims under.”
Inspector Cornwill said police were targeting more recidivist offending and continued to interact with repeat offenders to try and get them to understand the effects of crime.
The victim said she was now in the process of moving out of the home and moving in with a friend.
“We’d had some people go in to look at the house during the day, but police believe they (offenders) have jumped over a fence and jemmied open the back door,” she said.
“I’m organising to get the rest of my things out as soon as I can because I don’t feel safe there.”
Anyone with information on this burglary or any others is asked to contact Ballarat Police on 5336 6000 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.