Any "wanton'' vandalism of property in Mosgiel should be reported as soon as possible, police say.
The Taieri Times was told of a vehicle parked in Dryden St, Mosgiel being damaged repeatedly with a beer bottle about a fortnight ago.
The report follows the slashing of tyres of six vehicles parked in Mosgiel - one in Stirling Cres, two in Severn St and three in Thames St - in August.
Sergeant Kevin Davidson, of Mosgiel, speaking to the Taieri Times this week, said people reported the vandalism of property in Mosgiel to police sporadically.
Vandalism of letterboxes in Mosgiel had been rife but it had stopped, he said.
Police received occasional reports of "wanton'' damage.
He encouraged people who suspected someone was intentionally damaging property to call police immediately.
"If a person hears a bottle being smashed at night and they believe it could have damaged property, police should be called immediately.''
Police would prefer to be called, even if they found it was just a case of a bottle having been smashed on the road.
People often failed to call police because they believed they were "disturbing us''.
"It seems to be the pattern with people out here - they don't like disturbing you because they think we are too busy but we'd love people to tell us if they have concerns at the time.''
People could call 111 to report a suspected crime.
Anecdotally, he had not noticed a significant increase in crime in Mosgiel but intentional "wanton'' damage happened from "time to time''.
"It's unfortunate it's part of some people's psyche.''
He urged people to remove items of value from vehicles and ensure vehicles were locked.
If possible, a vehicle should be parked overnight in a locked garage.
If a vehicle had to be parked in the street, under a street light was preferable, he said.
SHAWN.MCAVINUE @thestar.co.nz