Albury and Wodonga police on same page to reduce theft

Wodonga Inspector Paul Henry and Detective Chief Inspector Mick Stoltenberg, of Murray River Police District in Albury, have worked closely to ensure crimes committed in their respective states don't get overlooked if they have occurred outside their jurisdictions.

Of particular concern has been a rise in residential burglaries and motor vehicle crime.

Inspector Henry said Wodonga police had 11 persons of interest under close watch.

"We're conducting compliance checks and ensuring they comply with any court-imposed sanctions that are enforceable by police. We are also tasking our police locally to areas where crime has been committed, when crime has been committed," he said.

"We're not talking about crimes where people are entering homes and being violent, we are talking about opportunistic entry to homes in order to commit crime, and that's why we're asking the public for help. I'd like to highlight that the police are sharing intelligence between Victoria and NSW in order to work collaboratively to address crime.

"We are concerned about areas that are next to green belts. Bicycle paths are problematic and areas that adjoin public parkland, so residents in those areas are asked to be extra vigilant."

Inspector Henry said crime had returned to levels comparable to before the pandemic in 2019.

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Detective Chief Inspector Stoltenberg said while crime was on the up, it had been matched by police productivity.

"We're not alarmed by it because we can also see that there's a lot of good work happening at the same time," he said.

"We've got some sensational police who come to work every day and want to make people safe and lock up crooks. We can't ask for anything more than that."

Detective Chief Inspector Stoltenberg said it was sensible to share information between states, with arrests made in Thurgoona and Harrietville in recent months as a result of the partnership.

"Pretty much the only thing that separates us from our Victorian counterparts is the colour of the shirts that we wear and the fact there's a stretch of water that runs between the two of us," he said.

"The results speak for themselves, as far as whether people are being arrested in Victoria, or whether they're being arrested in NSW, a victim of crime doesn't care.

"If they've had their house broken into, they've had their car stolen or they've been assaulted, they don't care who locks them up. They wouldn't care if the Girl Guides or the Boy Scouts did that job, they want a result, and that's exactly what we want."

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