Victoria Police is sounding the alarm: lock your cars to stop rising thefts.
In the Wyndham region on the south-west outskirts of Melbourne’s CBD, 63 per cent of the vehicles broken into across the past month were unlocked, resulting in the theft of valuables and other important documents.
Since February, more than 75 thieves have been arrested in Wyndham alone, though more have yet to be caught.
Common items stolen include wallets, phones, handbags, laptops and large amounts of cash.
In one incident, a 29-year-old male stole identification cards and used them to try and obtain credit cards worth $20,000, as well as a new mobile phone.
In another case, a male entered an unlocked vehicle and stole power banks and keys to several properties.
On March 2, an unknown male entered an unlocked BMW (above) and stole a laptop worth $3500 and $500 in cash.
A third incident occurred in early April, where a vehicle pulled up next to a parked white Jeep and stole an $8000 watch from its glovebox.
Wyndham police last year established the Vehicle Crime Reduction Team, amid increasingly prevalent thefts from cars.
Acting detective sergeant Darcy Spence urged drivers to remove valuables from their vehicle and properly lock and secure their cars.
“We’re investing significant energy into thefts from cars as we know how much they impact victims and their sense of security,” he said.
“When interviewed, offenders are telling us that they try multiple parked cars until they find one that is unlocked.
“That means we really need the community to help us help them.”
If you know any information about the released images, contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
If you witness suspicious behaviour around parked vehicles, report it to police by calling 000.
