Acting Superintendent Andrew McKee said the warmer months were when people were more likely to be outdoors and to have windows and doors open

Victoria Police say warmer weather has contributed to a rise in youth criminals carrying out vehicle-motivated aggravated burglaries.

There has been a spike in aggravated burglaries in the past month.

The rate of aggravated burglaries in which cars are stolen has surged by almost half in the past month.

Victoria Police figures show a 45 per cent increase in areas covered by Operation Trinity, a push that employs 70 officers a night to rein in the crime scourge.

Police say the warmer weather has contributed to a rate of 32 vehicle-motivated aggravated burglaries a week from October 19 to November 9.

That compared with an ­average of 22 a week in the two months to October 18.

The spike disappointed police, who had driven offending rates down by 30 per cent compared with the three months before Trinity was set up in March last year.

Investigators say unlocked properties and vehicles continue to be factors in the crimes, suspected in most cases to be the work of groups of youths.

Intelligence from Trinity – which runs through the southeastern suburbs – indicates the youths will generally move on if a house or car is secured.

In nine of 15 cases in a ­recent four-day stretch, thieves entered houses via unlocked doors – mostly at the back – or through garage pedestrian doors.

House keys left in an unlocked vehicle were used in one case, the method of entry could not be determined in three, a front door was smashed open in one, and there was one failed attempt when a dog scared off the ­intruder.

On November 8, boys aged 14 and 15 found an unlocked Nissan X-Trail outside a Clyde North home then used its garage remote to get into the house, where they stole car keys, computers, cash and credit cards.

Police said the boys were spotted driving “suspiciously in convoy” with another car the next morning and arrested.

In Doncaster a week earlier, police said, a Porsche was stolen after four teenagers aged 14 to 16 entered a home through an unlocked rear sliding door.

It was later seen travelling at up to 240km/h on Monash Freeway before police ­deployed stop sticks and made arrests.

A Mercedes Benz was stolen via an unlocked back door at St Leonards, on the Bellarine Peninsula, on November 7.

Police said six children who had found its keys on a hook inside the home were taken into custody.

Acting Superintendent Andrew McKee, of Operation Trinity, said officers were arresting four burglars and car thieves each day but also needed community help.

Acting Superintendent Andrew McKee. Picture: Jason Edwards

“We know that summer is traditionally the peak season for home burglaries, however, if you lock your property the odds of falling victim dramatically reduce,” he said.

Superintendent McKee said the warmer months were when people were more likely to be outdoors and to have windows and doors open.

“Before you go to bed, double check all doors and windows are locked on your home and car, as often this is all it takes to deter opportunistic burglars and thieves,” he said.

Victoria a ‘gangster’s paradise’

Premier Jacinta Allan has been accused of helping turn the state into a “gangster’s paradise” as victims of horrific crimes call for stricter bail laws and harsher penalties for selling or carrying machetes.

Surging youth crime and a spate of deaths allegedly at the hands of young criminals has left terrified residents fed up and demanding action.

Margot, who says she is still mentally scarred after four masked thugs stormed her home as her family slept, claims Ms Allan “couldn’t care less” about the victims of frightening crimes.

Margot, who is too afraid to use her real name, says four men wearing balaclavas broke into her Mt Martha home this year while her young daughter slept just metres away.

They stole keys to two cars which the family is still attempting to sort out with insurance companies.

“Jacinta Allan is sitting there saying ‘tell someone who cares’. She’s not doing anything,” Margot said.

“We’ve gone from being a police state, and now it’s a bit of a gangster’s paradise.”

The Youth Parole Board this week revealed the number of youths jailed in the past decade had dipped 70 per cent despite a surge in crime.

Margot said her son, 15, had asked if he could carry a knife to defend himself if attacked by thugs in public.

“That’s what the young people are thinking now,” she said. “You fear for your children. There is nowhere you can escape it in Victoria.”

She said even harsher penalties needed to be introduced for carrying, using and selling machetes, which were banned this year under the Control of Weapons Act.

Another man whose home was invaded by teenagers wielding machetes said the crime rate was worsening.

“This is just not what Australia was five, 10, 20 years ago,” he said. “It’s all wrong.”

A state government spokesman said: “We’ve already announced we will give Victoria Police expanded knife search powers as part of our crackdown on knife crime.”