Welcome Jay!

By Snr Sgt Alex O'Toole - Southbank Police Station I am very excited to announce that Southbank Police Station now has two Senior Sergeants! Senior Sergeant Jay McDonald joined our team in July. Jay has moved across from Melbourne East Police Station and comes with a wealth of knowledge and experience having worked at stations such as City Patrol Group, Footscray, Prahran and St Kilda. Jay has also worked at specialist units such as the Water Police, Public Order Response Team and as an instructor at the academy with the Centre for Incident and Emergency Management. He currently holds the position of the Municipal Emergency Response Coordinator (MERC) for the City of Melbourne Local Government Area and works closely with the City of Melbourne. He also represents Victoria Police on the Municipal Emergency Management Planning Committee. Jay’s role includes liaison with other emergency management agencies such as Fire Rescue Victoria, SES, Ambulance Victoria, to name a few, to ensure that the best possible response is provided for residents and businesses should there be an incident. Welcome Jay! Motorcycle theft continues to occur in Southbank. Thieves have been targeting motorcycles parked on the street and also those parked in carparks of apartment buildings. During early September, Senior Constable Dan Staffieri and Constable Michael Relph arrested two offenders who were using a stolen white van to steal motorcycles off footpaths and were tailgating residents into building carparks to steal parked motorcycles. The white van was fitted out with equipment to enable locks to be removed and motorcycles to be wheeled into the van. Well done Dan and Michael! There are some important points here – the offenders were accessing carparks by tailgating – for the safety of all residents never allow another vehicle to tailgate your vehicle into a carpark. You may think you are being nice by letting someone in, unfortunately you could be inviting thieves into your building to steal. If you own a motorcycle and you park in residential carpark try to block your motorcycle in behind a car to reduce the chance of it being stolen. If you notice people acting suspiciously in your carpark or around motorcycles parked on the street either call 000 or Southbank Police Station on 8635 0900. A tip-off from a member of the public can result in police arresting thieves. Here are some tips on protecting your motorcycle from theft: Lock your steering lock Keep your lock off the ground – reduces the risk of a thief being able to pry the lock open Lock your motorcycle to something heavy Use multiple locks on your motorcycle Buy quality locks and chains Install a hidden kill switch Park your bike in a well-lit location Remember to always lock your bike