By Ewen McRae
The Caroline Springs Scouts have become the target of a serial thief, with a number of security cameras stolen from their hall in recent weeks.
The group has had five cameras stolen across four nights in the past three weeks.
They believe the same man is responsible for all of the thefts.
The exterior of the Burnside Heights hall has also been damaged, with footage showing a man trying to gain access to the interior.
The cameras were able to capture clear images of a man removing the cameras from the outside of the hall. The group says police do not know who he is.
Group leader Jen Jeske said the repeated thefts were having an impact on the Scout group.
“These are costly things to replace and that’s all volunteer dollars,” Ms Jeske said.
“It’s somewhere around $600 to replace two cameras, so we’ve now got three of those payments to replace these.
“This is a brand new facility that took nine years of work and community support to get … these cameras are there to ensure not just the safety of our property, but also our youth.
“We try not to impact the youth, but you can only fork out so much money without it having some sort of impact.”
The group has been overwhelmed with support from the community as the hunt continues for the thief.
A Facebook post about the incidents and images of the man have been shared by more than 300 different individuals and community groups in a bid to help the Scouts.
“The police suggested we make these images public, so if we’re lucky he’ll [the thief] see that and stop,” Ms Jeske said.
“We’ve had amazing community support on this and we’re really humbled by the care in the community.
“On top of sharing of the post, we’ve had numerous phone calls thanking us for what we do … [people] horrified that us and our youth would be subjected to this sort of constant vandalism and attacks on our property.
“It’s been really lovely to get all that love from our local community.”
