Geelong residents’ posts show concern about rising car theft

A mum who has spent hundreds of dollars on new security equipment has spoken of the moment she was feeding her baby late one night to be alerted to someone breaking into her car.

A Geelong woman says she has spent hundreds of dollars increasing her security after having her car targeted four times in nearly seven months.

Elana Ahpene, who moved to her home in October, said she has spent $300 on security cameras in a bid to stop thieves from targeting her home, with the most recent attack taking place around 6am on Friday morning.

It comes as community members have taken to local Facebook pages to report an increase in vehicle crimes.

“I was actually awake when it happened, feeding my baby,” Ms Ahpene said.

“My phone alerted me and by the time I opened the app the person had left because they realised I now have a camera set up.

“Hopefully it’s enough as I don’t have the money to go out and buy a whole set up, as it is the doorbell (camera) has set me back $300 just to have decent footage for the police.”

Attempted theft from a motor vehicle in South Geelong on Friday morning

Ms Ahpene said she believes she is being targeted by one person, who initially got lucky.

“The first time was my own fault as I forgot to lock my car,” she said.

“They took 10 cents and left what was in my glove box on my seats.

“They left everything baby wise even the camera that allows me to see my baby, so I’m lucky they had a heart in that sense because I even left her baby bag in the car that night.”

Since being targeted four times, she now fears the thief may escalate and is warning nearby residents to be cautious.

“At the start I did think it was just to score money but because this is now the fourth time it’s happened I’m now starting to think it could be to try and take my car,” she said.

“I think people around my area have the right to know someone is being dodgy.

“I was in Corio and never once had this issue and lived there over 20 years.

“I know everyone loves to bag Corio but nothing like this every happened when I was there.”

Geelong suburbs hit by car theft

Community concerns are growing as the number of local car thefts reported across social media has increased.

A Facebook user reported a navy blue ute stolen from Belmont last week on March 5, the day after police confirmed a Holden Colorado was stolen from Highlander Street in Torquay, with a 20-year-old Bell Park man charged over the incident.

Other posts from a Geelong community Facebook page indicated four other vehicles had been stolen in recent months across Corio, Norlane and Portarlington, with one incident involving an unlocked delivery car.

It comes as a Little River car fire was reported on May 11, an incident police are treating as suspicious.

“Emergency services arrived on Drysdale Road near Little River Road to find an unoccupied black Holden Commodore station wagon ablaze about 3.15am,” a Victoria Police spokeswoman said. “Police are investigating the circumstances of the fire.”

Despite concerns, Detective Senior Sergeant Stephen Pucar, from Geelong Tasking and Crime Intervention Taskforce, said the recovery rate for stolen vehicles was “pretty high”.

“It is not always straight away but we have a pretty good strike rate,” he said.

“For this area we are finding that we are dealing with a lot of local offenders.

“And the majority of cars are being located within our division.”

Det Snr Sgt Pucar said the crimes were typically performed by “opportunistic thieves” but also led to other crimes.

Detective Senior Sergeant Stephen Pucar and the Geelong Tasking and Crime Intervention Taskforce (TACIT) at work. Picture: Mike Dugdale

“A challenging component of investigating vehicle crime is unfortunately people leave vehicles unlocked and leave valuables in plain sight,” he said.

“At times thieves will walk an area and basically look for any opportunity, whether it is unlocked vehicles or unlocked house doors and windows.

“We encourage people not to leave keys to other vehicles in their cars, wallets, credit cards or remote controls to garages because opportunistic thieves will act on that.”

Geelong’s TACIT unit has a dedicated team investigating vehicle crime seven days a week. It also relies heavily on assistance from the public, particularly with CCTV footage and notifying police about suspicious activity as its unfolds.

“Groups or individuals walking the street attempting to open door handles is a really common red flag,” Det Snr Sgt Pucar said.

Originally published as Geelong residents’ posts show concern about rising car theft