Power tools are the number-one target of thieves responsible for a “significant increase” in thefts from local vehicles, Geelong Police have revealed.
Cash, credit cards, handbags and purses were the next in line to be stolen during the thefts spike from 12 November, police said this week.
“Areas that have been hardest hit currently are Colac, Belmont, Geelong, Grovedale, Herne Hill and Norlane. This is not excluding other suburbs where offences are also being committed,” police posted on Facebook around midday Wednesday.
Streets in some of the targeted suburbs had accounted for “multiple break-ins”, the post said.
The “location type” for the thefts from vehicles were a combination of driveways and carports, streets, lands, and footpaths .
“Offenders have easy access to vehicles parked in driveways and on the street out the front of premises,” police noted.
Last week’s Indy reported that local thefts from vehicles through smashed windows had surged 46 per cent in the past nine weeks but the police post this week suggested the latest increase largely represented stealing from easier targets.
“A very large number of the recent reported theft(s) from motor vehicles show no signs of forced entry or unlocked doors,” police revealed.
“Any items of value left in a motor vehicle are an invitation for a motor vehicle to be broken into. Theft from motor vehicles is an opportunist type crime, so items of value and bags left in view inside a motor vehicle create an opportunity to be stolen when the vehicle is not attended.”
Motorists should always lock parked vehicles and remove any valuables rather than just leave them “hidden inside”, the post advised.
“We all have a routine of some sort before we go to bed of an evening. Our message is include in your evening routine a check to see that both of the above have been done.”
While this week’s warning focussed on residential areas, last week’s report said train station car parks were the hot spots for thefts from vehicles that involved smashed windows.
The type of theft was reported all around Geelong but the handful of stations across the city accounted for 50 per cent of the reports.
The spate of smashed-window thefts had prompted additional patrols of stations across Geelong, police revealed.
Friday and Saturday nights were the worst for the smash-thefts, police said, with the offenders generally targeting “small personal items” including cards, cash and bags.
