Ash Bolt
A Geelong Police operation targeting recidivist car thieves across the city has seen 20 people arrested and charged over the past week.
The operation, led by the Geelong Tasking and Crime Intervention Taskforce, saw police carry out 52 bail compliance checks on people who had previously stolen from vehicles between October 29 and November 7.
The checks found 23 people on bail that were alleged to be committing further offences, including breaching their bail conditions.
As part of the operation, police also patrolled several known vehicle crime hotspots in the Geelong area and recovered three stolen vehicles.
During one of these patrols about 11.50pm on Saturday, officers identified two people in a vehicle they alleged was stolen on High Street in Belmont.
As they tried to approach the vehicle, the driver allegedly deliberately rammed the police vehicle, causing significant damage to both cars.
Police located the vehicle later in Belmont and arrested and charged two 17-year-olds.
A 17-year-old Belmont boy was charged with theft of a motor vehicle, intentional exposure of police officer to risk by driving, damaging an emergency service vehicle by reckless driving, reckless conduct endangering serious injury, failing to stop on police direction, other driving offences and breaching bail.
A 17-year-old Hamlyn Heights girl was charged with theft of motor vehicle, possessing a drug of dependence and breaching bail.
They were remanded to face Geelong Children’s Court.
The operation saw 20 people charged with offences including theft from a motor vehicle, possessing a drug of dependence, possessing the proceeds of crime, criminal damage, driving and bail offences.
Detective acting sergeant Scott Sheedy said targeting recidivist offenders would continue to be a focus for local police.
“Geelong police will continue to proactively target recidivist car thieves, as we have over the past week or so, courtesy of a combination of patrols of known vehicle crime hotspots, shared police intelligence and management of persons of interest,” he said.
“We know that many of those who commit vehicle crime are repeat offenders and we make absolutely no apologies for actively checking the bail compliance of these offenders, to ensure they are abiding by all conditions of bail.
“While police will continue to make every effort to arrest and charge those who seek to steal from others, we know a large number of car thefts and car break-ins happen when vehicles are left unlocked.
“We implore members of the public to always lock their vehicles, keep valuables out of sight and keep their keys in a safe place that is not easily accessible to thieves.”
