Warwick crime wave: Burglaries, car thefts sweep town as police warn of new crime outbreak

Almost 10 break-ins and vehicle thefts in 48 hours has left the Warwick community on high alert as police investigate the town’s second major crime outbreak this year. FULL DETAILS HERE.

A fresh spate of car thefts and burglaries has swept across Warwick and its surrounds over the weekend, with police now anticipating it could be the beginning of the town’s next crime wave.

Almost 10 home break-ins, thefts, and other property-related crimes were reported in Warwick in just over 48 hours, including half a dozen cars being stolen or ransacked.

The first break-in was reported at a Furness Cres home between midnight and 9.30am on Saturday, where thieves took the keys to a blue Holden Spark and a Subaru Forester and fled with the vehicles.

Warwick Police acting officer-in-charge Sergeant Cameron Slater said the cars were later found abandoned but undamaged.

Thieves then targeted two Rowland St homes on Friday evening or the early hours of Saturday morning, stealing car keys from one home and another set of keys and a small amount of cash from inside a vehicle parked outside the second.

Sergeant Slater said offenders struck again across the Rose City on Saturday night, first pinching a set of tools from the back of a ute parked on Redgwell St before breaking into a Wood St home.

“They used a stick to break a window to gain entry, but nothing was stolen and nothing was damaged other than the window,” he said.

Offenders stole a wallet holding several bank cards and a small amount of cash from a Toyota Landcruiser parked outside a Wilkinson St home, with the incident taking place about half an hour before yet another burglary, this time on Maynes St.

“The informant was up and had to go outside to his car then came back inside. Minutes later, he heard the front door close and has run out the front and noticed a small red hatchback parked out the front,” Sergeant Slater said.

“It appears somewhere in that brief time, they’ve got into the house an stolen car keys, but because he was there they haven’t stolen the car.”

Police are also still investigating how a 2016 Land Rover was stolen from someone staying at the Coachman’s Inn on Wood St, with no indication at this stage that any of the rooms were broken into or car keys stolen.

With Warwick residents still recovering from the shocking crime wave that left the community on high alert last month, Sergeant Slater said it was likely a similar group of young offenders but could not point to a specific cause at this stage.

“These things fluctuate. Offenders come into town and leave town, or they get incarcerated and then let out, so it’s pretty hard to say at this stage,” he said.

No charges have been laid in relation to any of the reports and investigations are ongoing.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Warwick Police on 4660 4444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.