Business owners in the area are being asked to be vigilant following attacks on ATMs over the weekend.
Anyone who sees suspicious activity is asked to contact police immediately.
Investigations are ongoing into the weekend incidents in Belfast and Ballynahinch.
Thieves attempted to rip an ATM machine from a petrol station on the Belfast Road in Ballynahinch in the early hours of yesterday morning.
And in a separate incident, a member of staff arrived at their workplace on the Saintfield Road in Belfast to discover an ATM machine had been stolen.
“If you are a premises owner with an ATM on your site, please regularly review your crime prevention measures to minimise your risk of becoming a victim of crime.
“If you use or store heavy plant machinery on sites or facilities near commercial premises, please make sure these machines are kept locked, secured and immobilised to prevent theft,” said a police spokesperson.
“If you live close to businesses like filling stations and local shops, please lift the phone and contact us straight away if you notice anything out of the ordinary, hear machinery late at night or in the early hours or see any unusual activity or people in the area.”
Power outages close to commercial premises during darkness should be reported to police.
Retail NI has condemned the attempted ATM robbery.
Chief Executive Glyn Roberts said: “Words fail to describe my anger at this disgraceful attempted ATM robbery on one of our members. This has caused extensive damage to one of Ballynahinch’s largest retailers in the run up to Christmas.”
He said this independent retailer which provides an invaluable service to the local community, awakened from his sleep to be told his business had been smashed up.
“It is also a new low for these robbers to attack health centres to steal ATMs.
“We would urge all businesses and organisations who have external ATMs to be vigilant and urge members of the public with any information to contact the PSNI,” he added.
