Police target car thieves in ‘Birds of Prey’ operation around Melbourne
People may think car theft is a low-impact crime, but there’s a serious reason police have targeted thieves in an almost-year-long operation in Melbourne’s southeast and peninsula that has seen 408 people charged with more than 2900 offences.
South East
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Police have swooped to arrest 408 people in a crackdown on car thieves in Melbourne’s southeast.
The “Birds of Prey” operation has targeted car thieves across Port Phillip, Stonnington, Glen Eira Bayside, Kingston, Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula since March last year.
Many of the car thefts have been linked to more serious crimes such as ram raids, carjackings and robberies.
Investigators have charged people with more than 2950 offences as a result of the sprawling crackdown.
In one case, detectives arrested a 34-year-old Seaford man, who was charged with 129 offences, including car theft, theft from a car, carjacking, armed robbery, arson, assault, property damage and theft.
On Tuesday last week, police arrested a 19-year-old Seaford man after a raid at his property.
Investigators seized a number of stolen mobile phones and the man was charged with car theft and handling stolen goods.
And last Wednesday, police nabbed a 15-year-old who had stolen a car just to get around.
Areas which have been hit hard by car thieves include Frankston, Seaford, Rosebud and Hastings.
Inspector Justin Cornford said: “We know people often view theft of or theft from a motor car as low-impact crimes, however we know it frequently leads to more violent offences such as burglaries, ram raids, pursuits, and evading police.
“Our Birds of Prey operation shows how seriously police are treating the issue of vehicle crime in Melbourne’s southeastern suburbs and our commitment to holding offenders to account.
“As part of our ongoing focus on these kinds of crimes, we’re using a mix of general duties police, detectives from the crime investigation units and officers from the frontline tactical and divisional response units to tackle vehicle crime in Melbourne’s southeast.”
“Officers are consistently targeting known hot spots based on current intelligence and actively monitoring persons of interest,” Insp Cornford said.
“We are also utilising automated number plate recognition technology to identify false registration plates, stolen vehicles and people wanted on outstanding warrants.”
Police are urging people to lock their doors and be aware of securing their homes to deter car thieves.
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“While police are working hard to stop vehicle crime offenders in their tracks, we also want to remind the community about the importance of reporting any vehicle crime incidents as soon as they can,” Insp Cornford said.
“It’s crucial that police have the opportunity to attend the scene as quickly as possible to potentially locate and arrest the offenders, as well as collecting valuable evidence.
“Even if you think it’s insignificant, you never know what kind of information can help police solve a crime.”