Brimbank police are imploring people to remove valuables from their unattended cars and stop the “day in, day out” car break-ins that are happening across the city.
Last Wednesday, the Star Weekly and Brimbank police officers visited the Watergardens railway station in Sydenham to see how many cars had valuable items on view inside.
In more than a third of about 350 cars there were items of value in sight in the vehicle interiors. Items most commonly spotted were sunglasses, loose change, garage remote controls, bills and GPS systems.
Sergeant Craig McSwain, who leads Brimbank police’s vehicle crime reduction team, said it was a “heavily targeted” area.
“People leave their cars here all day to catch the train or shop and we’re being called out here several times a week,” he said.
There are 682 car parking spots at the train station, and Watergardens Town Centre has more than 4700.
According to Senior Sergeant Shannon Symons, even AUX cords and GPS windscreen suction cups should be removed from view as they can indicate a device may be hidden away in the glove box or console.
Other targeted items include mobile phones, wallets, handbags, laptops and keys.
Although crime statistics for the 2013-14 financial year for Brimbank show a 6.3 per cent drop in thefts from cars compared with the previous year (from 2429 to 2275 offences), the figures are still unnecessarily high, police say.
“These are often opportunistic crimes … where a person walking past your car can see something of value in clear sight and decides then to break in,” Sergeant McSwain said.
His caution comes after a 34-year-old Delahey man was arrested on September 23 for a series of thefts from cars across Delahey and Sydenham.
“The man had been trawling the suburbs at night and breaking into cars, managing to use several credit cards he obtained in the thefts,” Senior Sergeant Symons said.
The man is on remand to appear at Sunshine Magistrates Court on October 27.
Senior Sergeant Symons said police had arrested a Melton man in his mid-30s in the Watergardens station car park after catching him with several stolen number plates.
Sergeant McSwain is exploring a long-term program to combat number plate theft. He said vehicle owners could ring Sunshine police station on 9313 3333 to obtain one-way screws.
