General News
3 January, 2023
Clunes community disappointed by AED thefts
Stripping the community of vital support, last month two Automated External Defibrillators (AED) were reported stolen in Clunes leaving locals “disgusted” — but police say the offenders have been apprehended. In the early hours of December 19...
Stripping the community of vital support, last month two Automated External Defibrillators (AED) were reported stolen in Clunes leaving locals “disgusted” — but police say the offenders have been apprehended.
In the early hours of December 19, the Clunes IGA and the Clunes Neighbourhood House became the targets of a series of thefts across the region after their publicly accessible AEDs were stolen despite being equipped with alarm systems and cameras.
Clunes IGA owner Dianne Hill said she was frustrated the event had taken place especially after the community was left distressed following a similar incident a couple of years ago.
“The rotten thing is the first AED was originally provided by the Bendigo Bank and the Masonic Lodge, they paid for it and put it on the wall here. And that got stolen in 2019,” she said.
“After that theft, we did a fundraiser and got a new one but now it’s happened again.
“I think everyone’s really disappointed. I guess the only good thing is that we don’t think it was someone in town that did it. This would also be the main used defibrillator, I would say, because it’s in such a central spot. So I just think everyone’s disgusted with it.”
An important asset to the community, Ms Hill hopes lives aren’t put at risk because of the theft.
“The AED is something that could save someone’s life and some low life has taken it so someone could potentially die,” she said.
“If someone comes here then has to go somewhere else in town, that extra three minutes might make all the difference.”
It is also hard to prevent thefts like these since AED’s need to be available to the public at all times in case of emergencies.
“You can’t really stop it. If you lock the AED, then someone who needs it can’t get to it. If you have a number lock where someone has to ring someone to get the code — it’s just not practical,” Ms Hill said.
“I guess we should be grateful that the other couple that are in town didn’t get stolen as well.”
Echoing the sentiment, Clunes Neighbourhood House manager Lana de Kort said while their AED was also stolen, the centre has been lucky to have avoided a theft for so long.
“We’ve been very fortunate over the years as the community is very supportive and we’ve been lucky not to suffer losses like this. We understand that these thefts were part of a number of thefts across the region,” she said.
Creswick Police’s Senior Constable Trevor Stephenson confirmed that suspects had been arrested in Ballarat last week.