Site thefts worry police

By Sarah Schwager
THIEVES are on the rampage through building sites and display homes around Cranbourne.
The thefts are becoming weekly occurrences and Cranbourne police are worried.
One of the most recent buildings to be targeted was the site of the new Aldi supermarket in Cranbourne.
Burglars cut through padlocked gates on temporary fencing surrounding the Bakewell Street block between 5pm on 2 August and 5.30am on 3 August.
Once inside the gate they smashed a window with concrete to get inside a temporary shed used as a kitchen.
They gathered folding tables, a toaster, microwave and coffee dispenser but fled without taking anything.
Police said it was possible they had been disturbed.
On the weekend, a site office at a building site next to the BP service station on Cranbourne-Frankston Road, Cranbourne was broken into.
The thieves cut the chain and lock on the compound before stripping 150 metres of electric cable from a drum, leaving the drum behind.
They also stole a drum that held 500 metres of cable.
Police said the drum weighed half a tonne so would have required machinery to lift it.
Site workers said there was a forklift at the site but they did not believe it had been used.
The cable was valued at $16,000. The theft happened between 6pm on Friday and 6.50am on Saturday.
Last week, window frames valued at $6000 were stolen from a building site in Cranbourne South.
Police said the thieves entered the building site of a series of display homes on Espie Court through unlocked temporary fencing.
They then stole 20 cedar window frames of various sizes from the back yard of the property.
The windows were chained with a padlock but the thieves used bolt cutters to steal them.
The theft happened between 3.30pm on 28 July and 7am on 31 July.
Police said copper was often being sold to scrap-metal dealers. They urged people to be on the lookout for suspicious activity at construction sites.
Anyone with information should contact Senior Constable Steve Regnier at Cranbourne CIU on 5995 4577 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.