Residents in the Victorian coastal town of Wonthaggi were concerned about local crime rates.(ABC Gippsland: Madeleine Stuchbery)
Concerned residents in Gippsland have banded together to set up a new Neighbourhood Watch group.
Regional Victoria has experienced an uptick in crime in the past 12 months, according to new Crime Statistics Agency data.
Neighbourhood Watch has warned against online community groups turning into vigilantes, saying it could impede police investigations or defame innocent people.
Wonthaggi resident Lauren Truman spent weeks tossing and turning at night, feeling afraid of what might be happening outside her front door.
After scrolling through online community groups on Facebook where people were posting about criminal incidents in her part of regional Victoria, she said she was terrified someone would break into her home.
"I was feeling unsafe in my home because of all the break-ins, attempted break-ins, and people hanging around outside of people's houses," she said.
"I was also concerned about what I was seeing around town. Homelessness, kids running amok in the streets bothering people, drug-affected people, squatters in vacant houses."
Ms Truman said other residents posting CCTV footage to community groups of would-be thieves looking for unlocked doors made her feel like people would "creep" around her house soon.
"Whatever noise I heard, I was heightened and on edge," Ms Truman said.
Crime Statistics Agency data released last week showed there had been an uptick in crime across Victoria, including in regional areas.
The data showed the number of offences across the state increasedby 17.1 per cent in the 12 months to the end of March.
Youth crime was at its highest since records began, with young offenders over-represented in aggravated burglaries and home invasions.
Mike Bush has been sworn in as Victoria's new police chief, vowing to tackle rising crime rates and rebuild trust in the police force.
According to the figures, Latrobe ranked third in the state for areas with the highest criminal incident rates, and second in the state for the number of recorded offences.
Regional Victorian municipalities accounted for three of the top five locations for criminal incident rates in the past 12 months: Latrobe with a 10.7 per cent rise in crime, Mildura with an almost 5 per cent lift, and Ararat with a 25.2 per cent rise.
Rather than sitting at home scared of the night, Ms Truman picked up the phone and contacted her friend and Bass Coast Shire councillor Meg Edwards.
A group of Wonthaggi and Inverloch residents have banded together to form a Neighbourhood Watch group.(Supplied: Lauren Truman)
Together they hosted a number of community events in conjunction with Neighbourhood Watch and Victoria Police, providing resources and information about proactive crime prevention.
Ms Edwards said she had dual concerns, both for people feeling anxious in the community and an emerging cohort of people "who have fallen potentially through the cracks".
She said the community meeting provided an opportunity for local police, residents, and other resources such as the Country Women's Association to band together.
"There is something that we can do, there is hope and by getting together and connecting with each other we realise that," Ms Edwards said.
"Troubled times can come to anybody, no matter what your situation is now. How do we care for each other?"
While it is now common for people to post about alleged crimes on social media, authorities have urged people not to turn intosocial media vigilantesand instead rely on police and Neighbourhood Watch resources to remain proactive in the face of crime.
Nicoll Peschek from Neighbourhood Watch said the organisation worked as a crime prevention tool, and said criminal damage remained one of the top criminal incidents its programs could address.
Neighbourhood Watch's Nicoll Peschek says the group is about crime prevention, not vigilantism.(Supplied: Nicoll Peschek)
"Our groups are not vigilantes …we're not out to fight crime," Ms Peschek said.
"The time to ring police is when you see a crime in action."
She said residents sharing CCTV footage online could be problematic, and recommended citizen share footage with the police, not Facebook.
"Refrain from sharing online as it may falsely profile someone, or may jeopardise a police investigation," she said.
"Having an official Neighbourhood Watch Facebook page can help to let the community know about the types of crime happening in the community, as well as offering tips to "target harden" — employing tactics to encourage criminals to move on.
"We're trying to get the message out to the community how to prevent crime from happening in the first place," she said.
A Victoria Police spokesperson said community members should contact police in the event of an emergency, or with information around an unfolding crime.
They also said if someone posted an image of a person and alleged they were a criminal when they weren't, it would be a potential civil law matter with no involvement from police.
Authorities are urging community members not to become online vigilantes in the face of crime.(AP: Jenny Kane)
Ms Truman has been instrumental in organising a number of community information evenings, with a fledgling Wonthaggi and Inverloch Neighbourhood Watch group in the works.
She said tapping into resources such as the local preventative crime squad and Neighbourhood Watch had made her feel empowered, rather than overwhelmed.
"Speaking to other people, knowing that other people felt the same way and basically just being proactive made me feel better," she said.