Residents of Alexandria and Erskineville have started a community action group, and the latest figures show theft in Alexandria running at more than double the NSW average.
Neighbours Start Keeping Watch
The group began online. People in the two inner Sydney suburbs use it to share footage, pass on warnings and log what they say has been a run of incidents over roughly the past two months. They say the crimes have become more aggressive and believe an influx of young offenders is behind them. The residents’ accounts were first reported by The Daily Telegraph.
A Bike, A Doorbell and A Laugh
Sarah has lived in Erskineville for a decade and rarely had trouble until recently. She asked that her surname be withheld for safety reasons. In the past month, she has had three attempted break-ins.
One was caught on video. A man in a balaclava rang her doorbell, then tried to take her locked e-bike at about 12:30 p.m. on a Monday. A neighbour started filming and shouting, and the man rode off on a different e-bike. Sarah said he laughed and remarked that he had stolen that one too.
The number of incidents is only part of what troubles her. She said crime has climbed over the past three months, and the nerve it takes to act in the middle of the day stands out. Her family feels less safe than it used to.
Smashed Windows on a Friday Morning
John Elefitherio has lived in Alexandria for 26 years and said crime has never been worse. The area once dealt mostly with opportunists, he said, but he now sees more attacks on people and property.
His CCTV recorded a hooded man smashing a car window at about 6:30 a.m. on a Friday last month. The man took a few coins from the console, Elefitherio said, then damaged six other cars on the street. People walking their dogs confronted him, and he answered with abuse.
Police came about five days later to take fingerprints. Elefitherio understands officers are busy, but by then the visit felt pointless to him. Both he and Sarah reported their incidents straight away, and both said the response was slow and did little to deter the offenders.
What the Figures Show
The latest theft rates cover July 2025 to June 2026. Erskineville recorded 2392.1 per 100,000 people and Alexandria recorded 4582.7. The NSW rate for the same period was 2154.9. These numbers count theft in general, not any single type of incident.
Over five years, reported theft rose 12.1 per cent in Erskineville and 4.7 per cent in Alexandria. Both suburbs have levelled off over the past two years, though. The data also stops at June 2026, and NSW Police could not supply newer figures, so it does not capture the recent incidents residents describe.
How Police and Leaders Responded
Police say the Inner West and South Sydney commands know about concerns over vehicle break-ins and attempted thefts, but a spokesman stopped short of promising dedicated patrols in the two suburbs. He pointed instead to Operation Ares and Operation Percentile, which police describe as targeting youth, property and knife crime across Sydney. Other police updates describe Ares as knife scanning and Percentile as a retail crime operation, and police did not say whether either is running locally.
Crimes like these, the spokesman said, tend to be crimes of chance. Locking up cars, houses and garages, keeping keys out of vehicles and stowing valuables out of sight can help, he added, and residents should report anything suspicious quickly.
For Police Minister Yasmin Catley, everyone should be able to feel safe in their community, and she trusts police to send resources where they are needed most.
Newtown MP Jenny Leong, of the Greens, said she is aware of how bike thefts and break-ins are affecting Alexandria and Erskineville. She called for enough funding for local services, including housing support, youth services, crisis support and neighbourhood centres.
What Residents Want Next
The action group is asking for targeted patrols or a dedicated police operation in Alexandria and Erskineville. For now, the online group remains the place where neighbours record what they see and warn one another.
Anyone who notices suspicious behaviour, or has information that could help, is urged to contact police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Published Date 26-October-2026
