Whittlesea and Hume are Victorian hotspots when it comes to car thefts.
According to the Crime Statistics Agency’s breakdown of car theft offences, the two municipalities were in the top five for the highest number of cars stolen in Victoria in 2014.
Hume topped the list with 1064 cars stolen for the year, accounting for 6.4 per cent of all offences recorded.
Whittlesea was fifth on the list with 870 cars stolen last year.
In total, 16,686 cars were stolen across the state in the same 12-month period.
Hume police’s Inspector Lisa Hardeman said theft of, and from, cars had been a focus of local policing efforts for the past nine months.
“We’re doing everything we can to address it, but we’re not making much headway,” she said.
“A lot of it’s opportunistic … the public are leaving valuables clearly visible and their cars unlocked.”
Inspector Hardeman said police were finding too many cars left unlocked, particularly in driveways and on the road in front of houses.
Whittlesea police have started a new campaign with Whittlesea council and Whittlesea Neighbourhood House to remind drivers to “remove it, lock it or lose it”.
Signs spelling out the campaign message have been put up in major carparks at railway stations, shopping strips and plazas.
Police crime prevention officer Sandy O’Connor said she hoped the campaign would encourage motorists to look after their property.
“When we audit carparks we see valuables in plain sight – GPS’s, laptops and money,” Leading Senior Constable O’Connor said.
“We’ll audit the carparks, and those cars with valuables on display we’ll usually send a letter out reminding the owner to be conscious of the risks involved.”
