Campaign targets car security
Car owners are being urged to lock their cars and hide their valuables, as Victoria Police and Crime Stoppers launch a new campaign ‘You’ve Been Checked’.
Data from the Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) has revealed that more than 14,000 motor vehicle theft-related incidents were reported in the year to March 2022, and more than 47,000 thefts from motor vehicles.
The new campaign will see members of Crime Stoppers and Victoria Police check vehicles are secure and valuables are not visible at cark parks in several locations across Victoria.
Members will leave safety kits on people’s windshields, letting them know how they faired in the check and providing information about how to best keep their vehicle safe.
“We want to encourage car owners to break the habit of leaving their vehicles unlocked and their valuables on display,” said Crime Stoppers chief executive officer Stella Smith CEO Crime Stoppers
“In the kit people will find a QR code which they can scan to find out how securely they left their car and how to avoid becoming a victim of thieves
“Crime statistics show that 46 per cent of the time there is no visible force when a car is stolen. Vehicles being left unlocked is a common issue and in some instances, stolen keys are also used.”
According to Ms Smith, the most common items stolen from cars were cash and documents, power tools, mobile phones and laptops. She warned that aside from theft from motor vehicles causing financial loss and inconvenience, theft of personal documents and lead to identity theft.
Some locations being targeted by the campaign are Footscray, Thomastown, Dandenong, and Geelong.
“We wanted to find a new way to engage the public, people can be very complacent about walking away from their vehicles,” Ms Smith said.
In the year ending March 2022, there were 91 motor vehicle thefts in the Baw Baw Shire and 239 thefts from a motor vehicle recorded by the CSA.
Warragul Police inspector Alison Crombie said the You’ve Been Checked initiative would be beneficial in Warragul and Drouin.
“We’ve got a lot of youth that are committing these types of offences in Warragul, they tend to be crimes of opportunity.”
“They’ll go around to a particular street and will try all the cars in the street to find one that is open, or they will be looking in the cars to see if there is anything valuable.
If they can see anything that looks to be valuable then they might break a window or force their way into the car, “said Insp Crombie.
Items that are commonly stolen from cars in the Baw Baw Shire include laptops, purses, wallets, sunglasses, warm jackets and credit cards. Insp Crombie said a majority of the thefts from vehicles they deal with occur in the street outside the owner’s house and in the driveway of homes.
“If you live in a rural area you’re just as likely to have something stolen from your car as someone in suburbia,” she said.
“Tradies are one of our prevalent people to have their cars broken into... they leave their tools in the tray and people just take equipment out.”
Insp Crombie also warned people to lock up the doors and windows of their homes at night to avoid having their vehicles stolen.
She said offenders will enter homes through unlocked entrances, such as the back door or garage door and enter the premises in search of keys. They then use the keys to located and steal the car.
“People are leaving keys in conspicuous places,” Insp Crombie said.
“You need to be making sure your house is securely locked at night.”
Insp Crombie suggested people place their keys and wallets somewhere inconspicuous at night.
“You need to look at changing your behaviour when it comes to securing your vehicles by not leaving valuables on display,” she said.
“It will only take them a second to remove the items from your car, but then if you want to replace your phone or your identification .... it’ll take weeks and cost you money.”
Insp Crombie said another cost people pay after having a car broken into is their car insurance excess for damage like broken windows.