Whittlesea has the highest number of petrol thefts in Melbourne, latest Crime Statistics Agency data shows
SERVOS in Melbourne’s Whittlesea are losing close to $3000 a week in petrol thefts, with new data revealing the region is the worst in the city.
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SERVOS in one northern Melbourne council area are struggling through up to five petrol drive-offs a day, costing them almost $3000 a week, with new data revealing it’s the worst in the city for petrol thefts.
The latest Crime Statistics Agency data revealed 355 petrol thefts in Whittlesea between April 2017 and March 2018, the highest number for a Melbourne municipality.
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The data came as no surprise to the 10 service station owners Whittlesea Leader spoke to.
An Epping servo manager, who did not want to be named, said the store suffered about five petrol drive-offs a day, and last month the thefts cost the store over $2700.
“It has happened many, many times,” they said.
“It is almost just another part of the day.”
Other servo owners across Whittlesea reported three or four thefts a day and monthly losses of about $1000.
The workers hoped a Victoria Police policy crackdown on drive-offs, introduced on June 25, would improve things.
Whittlesea local area commander Inspector Andrew Falconer said some thieves used stolen numberplates to avoid detection.
Numberplate recognition technology, which used high definition cameras to read licence plates and recognised plates previously used in a drive off to stop the bowser, were used by some service stations, he said.
One Bundoora service station owner told Whittlesea Leader they had used the technology for about a month and had noticed a decrease in petrol thefts.
Whittlesea residents were encouraged to fit one way screws to their vehicles to prevent theft, Insp Falconer said.
Whittlesea City Neighbourhood Watch will give away free screws at Mill Park Bunnings tomorrow from 10am-12.30pm.
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