Police Eastern Region Division Three tasking and co-ordination Acting Inspector David Gillespie urged people who were going away to submit an `absence from residence’ form with police to let them know they would be away from home.
This can help prevent break-ins while you are on holidays.
“If we know people are away we will patrol their house,” Insp Gillespie said.
The form can be submitted online at onlinereporting.police.vic.gov.au
Insp Gillespie also urged people to make sure they locked up their homes and their cars during the festive season, and didn’t leave items like bikes and scooters outside where they could be stolen.
Residents are also encouraged to register any parties they are having with police and not to drink alcohol to excess.
Insp Gillespie also urged people to be respectful of others and follow the chief health officer’s mandates when shopping around Christmas time and especially at the Boxing Day sales.
“If you are asked to provide a vaccination certificate, do it. People are just doing their jobs,” he said.
With Christmas and the new year a busy time on the roads, motorists are urged to drive safely.
Roadsafe Goulburn Valley chair Des Callaghan urged people to take regular breaks, especially if they were on long trips, and not to drive at times when they would normally be asleep.
“Driver fatigue is one of the biggest contributors to road trauma,” Mr Callaghan said.
He also warned that motorists should be aware of what was happening around them, including watching for speed zone changes due to, for example, roadworks, as well as watching out for farmers who may be moving stock across roads or driving slow-moving farm machinery.
“Road safety doesn’t just stay with the police — it is every driver’s responsibility to drive safely,” Mr Callaghan said.
With many people heading to camp in forests and parks during the holidays, the Conservation Regulator and Forest Fire Management Victoria are reminding people to know and follow the rules around campfires and rubbish before they head off.
Campers are urged to check weather conditions and warnings on the VicEmergency website or app before lighting a campfire and to never light a campfire on a day of Total Fire Ban.
They should also take a bucket and, if there will be no water available, make sure to take enough with them to extinguish a campfire.
In state forests, people should use a purpose-built fireplace or light a campfire in a trench at least 30cm deep, and branches and logs on a campfire must be less than one metre long.
Never leave a campfire unattended and use water, not soil, to completely extinguish the campfire before leaving.
Visitors to state forests must also take out anything they bring in, including rubbish.
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