Lock up motorcars

Residents are being urged to lock their cars as thefts from cars continue to be a major hotspot of crime across the Baw Baw police services area.

With a recent spate of thefts from cars, residents are being reminded to remove valuables from the vehicles, lock vehicle and secure keys.

Offenders continue to target unlocked cars, which police said provided opportunistic thieves with easy access to vehicles.

Warragul Police acting senior sergeant Brent Muir said one of the current crime themes, particularly in Warragul and Drouin, was the targeting of unlocked vehicles.

“It is one of our priorities to reduce the theft from vehicles in these areas,” he said.

Acting sen sgt Muir said there were three key messages – “remove valuables from your vehicles, lock your vehicle and secure your car keys.”

He said in most cases, the reports police receive involved unlocked vehicles.

Crime statistics for the Baw Baw psa in the year ending December 2019 showed a 13 per cent increase in thefts from cars compared to the previous 12 months.

Of the 4768 reported offences for the year, the top offence group was thefts from cars, with 524 offences recorded for the year.

This was up from 464 the previous year.