Charles Street shop owner Luke Dawson said he set up the private Facebook group to give retailers an even chance of beating the bad odds.

The Wanted Street Wear proprietor knows about being a target after a hammer was thrown into his window yesterday morning.

‘‘It’s tough, people are trying to steal off you or you’re getting called at 3am that your glass has been smashed,’’ he said.

‘‘It makes it hard to sustain yourself.’’

Mr Dawson said the front window damage would cost him at least $3500 to replace the glass.

His Facebook site was proving effective for local businesses, he said.

‘‘If another store has a problem we can share the information in real time,’’ he said.

Wanted wasn’t the only victim of Wednesday’s wrongdoing with six cars broken into with a hammer at the Launceston General Hospital.

Police said more than $2000 worth of property including a laptop and tablet had been stolen from the cars.

Launceston CIB Detective Inspector John King again urged drivers to not leave valuables in their cars.

The Sports Authority Company on St John Street also copped a hammer through its window.

Part-owner Jeff Chugg said the $1000 damage bill could blow out to $10,000 after glass was sprayed over several treadmills.

‘‘It’s just bloody frustrating,’’ he said.

While public order incidents in the city are steady it’s no secret that business burglaries have surged.

Since July business break-ins have increased by about two-thirds compared with the same time last year.

‘‘We seem to have multiple groups at the moment conducting burglaries,’’ Detective Inspector  King said.

Three youths were charged with burglary, attempted burglary, stealing and destroying property following yesterday’s events.