Harley Davidson motorbike. Photo: Pexels.com
Happy New Year all, I hope you managed to get a good break over the festive season.
Deb Hann – Senior Constable
I, like many in the community, ended up sick for the week before my Christmas leave, so had a longer than expected break. In my absence quite a bit happened in Cambridge, with some good catches.
In December, we had two incidents where members of the Greazy Dogs Motor Cycle gang and associates failed to stop for and fled from police, driving recklessly and putting the public at risk. Subsequent investigations led to several search warrants being executed and four motorcycles involved being located, seized and impounded.
In addition, the spate of car thefts I referenced in columns before Christmas was brought to a halt by the arrest of local youths following an incident on December 21. The youths involved were tracked after trying to break into a vehicle on Thornton road. They were located at nearby addresses. All three were referred to Youth Aid.
In other news, the theft of a vehicle last week highlighted the importance of ensuring firearms are appropriately secured at all times. A firearm and ammunition left unsecured in a vehicle, were unwittingly stolen when the vehicle was the target of car thieves. This has created further risk for police and members of the public alike. Every firearm licence holder is responsible for meeting the security requirements that go along with that privilege. Ensuing enforcement action for licence breaches of this nature will often lead to a revocation of an individual’s firearms licence.
Going into 2024, we continue to receive reports of people losing significant money in what turn out to be fraudulent Facebook Marketplace transactions. Most recently a person transferred money to buy a vehicle and once the money was transferred, all communication ceased and they were blocked by the Facebook profile. Needless to say, the vehicle did not eventuate.
In this case the seller’s profile appeared to have some degree of legitimacy because it was set up a few years ago, rather than being brand new, but in hindsight there were other clues that it was perhaps not as it seemed. I have said more than once before – but the word clearly needs to get out further – the easiest way to avoid becoming a victim of fraud is to only pay for high value items upon collection, when you have seen the item, know it exists and the condition is as represented. Do not get sucked in to buying high value items online based on an online marketplace listing.
If you can’t afford to lose the money, don’t take the risk of giving the fraudsters the opportunity.
I wish you all a great start to 2024.
Police siren. Photo: Pexels.com
