Police saturated Epping carparks last week in a bid to deter theft and other crimes.
Operation Trio, which lasted three days, had police roaming carparks at Northern Hospital, Epping Plaza, the Epping Homemaker Centre and Lalor and Epping railway stations to improve residents’ perceptions of safety and deter would-be criminals.
Officers from the Melbourne, Epping and Mill Park police stations, by-laws officers, members of the Sheriff’s Office and the automatic number plate recognition crew worked together for the “visual saturation exercise”.
“Offenders hang around these carparks because it’s easy to break into cars there, so we’ll have to start running more of these operations,” Acting Sergeant Rudy Marsilli said.
Nine vehicles were searched and 14 offenders were prosecuted for a variety of crimes, including unlicensed driving and possessing equipment to steal.
About 230 vehicles were intercepted, 35 preliminary breath tests were performed, 37 penalty notices were issued and four arrest warrants were executed.
Police were also spruiking their “remove it or lose it” campaign, which urges motorists to be more vigilant about leaving valuables visible in parked cars.
Police checked 1211 cars for valuables and will mail notices to 129 vehicle owners who left items on display.
