Carjackings and attempts running at more than once per day in Victoria

A rarity just 10 years ago, carjackings and attempted carjackings are occurring across Victoria at a rate of more than one a day, with kids and teenagers behind the surge.

Carjackings and attempts at the crime are running at more than one a day in Victoria.

Police say three-quarters were carried out by children or youth offenders, propelling a steady increase in the carjacking rate.

The latest Crime Statistics Agency figures show there were 439 carjackings in Victoria last year, many targeting professional drivers.

Aggravated and attempted aggravated carjackings, the worst categories of the crime, have surged from 59 to 162 in the past eight years.

There were among the most commonly chosen victims are ride-share operators and food delivery drivers.

They frequently become targets for ambushes as they stop for passengers or to drop off meals.

Given the significant 156 attempts included among the 439 overall total and, despite their failure, many victims were left terrified.

Police say that trauma associated with carjackings, police are determined to quickly arrest those responsible and seek their remand,” a Victoria Police statement said.

A 24-year-old man allegedly tried to car jack a woman cleaning her car in Frankston. Picture: Nine News

The force’s intelligence holdings say 75 per cent are the work of children or youth offenders.

Carjacking became a specific crime in 2017 amid community concern about the frequency of offending and, in that year the total was 143.

There are 11 separate charges in the category, among them carjacking with an aggravated weapon which rose from 40 cases eight years ago to 121 in 2024.

Carjacking (use force steal vehicle) went from 35 to 86 and aggravated carjacking with a weapon from 40 to 121.

The surge has emerged despite sources saying such incidents were extremely rare prior to a decade ago.

One source said much of it was connected to those involved in the wave of vehicle-motivated aggravated burglaries on suburban homes which has emerged in the past 10 years.

“It’s linked to the youth offending around cars. It’s all from that offending group,” the source said.

A number of such incidents have made headlines already this year.

A woman shot by police at Mulgrave last week was allegedly in a vehicle stolen in a gunpoint carjacking.

She is accused of pointing the weapon at a man and other vehicles in the Noble Park area before a confrontation with officers.

On February 10, a 15-year-old boy, who was already out on bail for other offences, allegedly threatened a driver with a knife and stole his car amid a string of service station holdups on February 10.

A rarity a decade ago, carjackings and attempted carjackings now occur at a rate of more than one a day in Victoria.

Meanwhile, a 13-year-old was one of several teenagers who allegedly threatened an innocent driver with a machete in Bacchus Marsh early last month.

Also in February, a 49-year-old woman was allegedly dragged out of her car by a teenager and thrown to the ground in Craigieburn.

Two innocent victims were also chased by offenders armed with machetes in a terrifying carjacking attempt in Hoppers Crossing last month.

The pair fled their Toyota Kluger after another vehicle drove into it at the intersection of Hogans and Derrimut roads.

One of those victims is believed to have fled to the nearby Red Rooster as one of the offenders gave chase.

The alleged offender attempted to slash the victim with a large knife as they hid inside the restaurant.

A 13-year-old boy had been out on bail for 12 days when he allegedly terrorised women at knifepoint on February 25, after sneaking out of his home in Cranbourne.

A court heard that two 18 and 19-year-old friends were sitting in a parked car near Thompsons Rd when the teen approached them.

He struck up a conversation with the young women before allegedly pulling out a knife and demanding they hand over the car.

The pair escaped and raised the alarm.