Vehicle thefts on the rise across Victoria as drivers ignore warnings to lock-up

Opportunistic thieves continue to take advantage of complacent Victorians who leave their vehicles unlocked, with thousands more cases reported in the past year.

Opportunistic thieves continue to take advantage of thousands of complacent Victorians who leave their vehicles unlocked despite repeated warnings by authorities.

Vehicle thefts jumped by almost 25 per cent – or almost 4000 reports – in the 12 months since March last year, with more than 21,000 drivers impacted.

A whopping 59,000 motorists also had valuables taken from inside their cars, according to the Crime Statistics Agency, with cases jumping by almost 10,000 reports from the year prior.

It follows a particularly horrific time on Victorian roads of late.

Just last week, William Taylor, 28, was killed after the vehicle he was driving was struck by an alleged stolen vehicle filled with teens at Burwood.

A 17-year-old boy allegedly behind the wheel was later freed on bail.

William Taylor, 28, was struck by a car and killed in Burwood.

RACV General Manager Motoring Products Jeff Ames said thieves often targeted vehicles that were easy to access.

“If the opportunity presents, thieves will break into a car and take possessions that are easily visible from outside the vehicle, often using the opportunity to steal the car itself,” he said.

Registration plates were also regularly nicked and fitted on to stolen vehicles, Mr Ames added, which were often later linked to ram raids, fuel theft and burglaries.

It comes after the Herald Sun revealed more than $30 million in stolen cars have been recovered in less than six months from three “dumping ground” Melbourne council areas.

Theives continue to take advantage of complacent drivers across Victoria who leave vehicles unlocked despite repeated warnings from authorities.

Victoria Police figures showed 1005 stolen vehicles - many taken in residential aggravated burglaries - turned up in Dandenong, Casey and Cardinia with some of the thefts linked to children as young as 13.

There have been 468 stolen vehicles valued at $16 million found in Casey, 411 in Dandenong and 126 in Cardinia, indicating many of the thieves are from those areas.

Operation Trinity, which runs around the clock to combat the wave of vehicle-motivated aggravated burglaries in the eastern and southern suburbs, has led to an increasing number of offenders being caught in the act and cars being returned to owners.