Almost 770 cars were stolen in Brimbank in the year to June 30, with almost half stolen from St Albans, Sunshine and Deer Park.
A new report from the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council shows Brimbank had the ninth most vehicles stolen in the 2015-16 financial year. The three worst municipalities for car theft in the state were Hume (1154), Geelong (973) and Casey (954).
The report reveals that in Brimbank, St Albans had 157 cars stolen in the year to June 30 – down from 172 cars stolen from the suburb in the previous financial year.
Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce executive director Geoff Gwilym has warned the numbers could increase as vehicle thieves “move over the border”.
He has urged the state government to introduce legislation currently being enacted in New South Wales that is designed to stop cash transactions for scrap vehicles and car parts.
“Once these new laws are passed in NSW, the state govenment should expect the rate of profit-related vehicle theft in Victoria to increase, as the thieves move over the border where the new laws don’t exist,” he said.
Brimbank Acting Inspector Matthew Baynes said stolen cars were frequently dumped near industrial estates and paddocks in Sunshine North and Derrimut, where they were torched and left to rot.
Melbourne Water waterways general manager Gavan O’Neill said derelict cars were often found in creeks and rivers.
“It’s frustrating for our teams to spend so much time fishing out so much rubbish, but the real issue is that we’re damaging our own rivers and creeks and the wildlife that inhabit them,” he said.
