Chamber spokeswoman Fay La Galle said residents and traders had been buffetted by a rise in crime in the area over the past 12 months.

One business owner reported that she and a member of her staff had both had their cars vandalised behind her restaurant. The woman asked not to be named as she worked late at night and feared recriminations by the vandals.

She said vandals had taken a wheel from her employee’s car while it was parked in the Blackburn Village carpark at night, while the rear window of her own car had been smashed.

She said she had not reported the incidents to police because she did not believe there was anything they could do without CCTV footage.

Ms La Galle said many traders supported CCTV cameras but they also wanted to see a greater police presence in the area. ‘‘This is a lovely area and we don’t want that to change.’’

Nunawading Acting Senior Sergeant Andrew Gardner said statistics did not suggest there was a serious crime problem at Blackburn Village, but admitted many crimes are never reported to police.

He said CCTV cameras were useful, but that people also needed to report crimes. ‘‘If crimes are occurring, report it. Then we can correctly target our members to patrol those areas.”

Whitehorse city development general manager Julie Reid said there were currently no plans to install cameras in Blackburn Village. ‘‘Any request received by the council would need to be considered as part of the council’s budget process,’’ Ms Reid said.

Mitcham MLA Dee Ryall, who recently moved her electorate office back to Blackburn Road, said she met regularly with the Blackburn Chamber of Commerce and would encourage the group to apply for government-funded community crime prevention grants.