Registration plate thefts lead to serious offending, police say

Number plate thefts in Melbourne’s inner east have skyrocketed, with more than a thousand stolen last year, according to the latest crime figures.

Number plate thefts in Melbourne’s ritzy inner east have skyrocketed, with more than a thousand stolen last year across Boroondara, Port Phillip and Stonnington, according to the latest crime figures.

Port Phillip car owners were the hardest hit, with 492 sets of registration plates stolen across the municipality in the year to September — up from 230 in 2005, Crime Statistics Agency data shows.

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Boroondara and Stonnington also saw dramatic increases, with 270 and 326 sets of plates pinched last year compared to 161 and 207 thefts just over a decade prior.

Port Phillip CIU Senior Sergeant Darren Humphries said vehicle crime was a perennial issue across Melbourne and number plate thefts accounted for up to a third of all thefts from cars in Port Phillip.

Boroondara Senior Sergeant Joe Connor said number plate thefts often led to more serious offending, including petrol drive offs, robberies and burglaries, as stolen plates made it difficult to track down the offenders.

One-way screws available for free at police stations made it virtually impossible for criminals to steal a vehicle’s plates, he said, and they should be considered if a car owner didn’t have access to secure off-street parking.

“The message is with car owners to make it as hard as possible for people to steal number plates by using one-way screws,” he said.

“It’s just so easy to waltz up and steal the number plates off a car at night.”

Boroondara Police will host a safe plate day in conjunction with Boroondara Council at 8 Inglesby Rd, Camberwell, on March 23 from 10am to 2pm.

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