Chilling footage has emerged on social media of a group of criminals breaking into homes around Orange and filming their unsuspecting victims as they sleep.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The Instagram account in question - which the Central Western Daily has chosen not to disclose - first posted a video on May 14 and as of publication, most recently posted on August 28.
This latest video showed a car involved in a police chase, with one of the passengers taunting the cops in pursuit while doing laps of the roundabout at the corner of Kite and Sale Street.
More concerningly for residents around the city, there are no less than half-a-dozen videos of the group filming themselves in homes they have allegedly broken into.
One of the posts even shows the home's occupants asleep in bed.
NSW Police confirmed it was aware of the videos circulating on social media and they would form part of their investigations.
"This 'trend' goes beyond stupidity and recklessness, these acts are crimes," a NSW Police spokeswoman said.
"Filming yourself committing a crime and posting the video online is a sure-fire way to get yourself arrested, charged and convicted of the offence.
"We would ask anyone considering jumping onto this trend: 'Are a few moments of fame on the internet worth dying for? Or at best, spending years in prison?"
The maximum penalty for a break and enter is 14 years imprisonment, which increases to 20 years in circumstances of aggravation and 25 years in circumstances of special aggravation.
For vehicle theft, the maximum penalty can be five or ten years imprisonment, depending on the circumstances, and five years just for travelling in a stolen car.
"As for the manner of driving, there are a raft of offences which can be applied - and that's without taking into consideration the likelihood this type of behaviour may injure or kill the occupants of the vehicle - or worse - an innocent road user," the NSW Police spokeswoman added.
"Filming yourself committing a crime and posting the video online is a sure-fire way to get yourself arrested, charged and convicted of the offence."
In total, there have been 41 videos posted to this particular Instagram account, with a new post going up more than once every three days on average.
The majority of videos show one or more people in cars - assumed stolen - driving around the city. In some cases, they are driving at speeds of up to 160km/h.
Reading this on mobile web? Download our news app. It's faster, easier to read and we'll send you alerts for breaking news as it happens.
Download in the Apple Store or Google Play.