By Alesha Capone
Police have warned Wyndham residents that the number of thefts from cars has “risen significantly” since the start of the year.
Acting Inspector Aaron Riches said that between January and April, there was a 25 to 30 per cent increase in thefts from cars in Wyndham, compared to the previous 12 months.
“It’s a continuing trend in Wyndham,” he said.
Acting Inspector Riches said that thefts of vehicles had also risen in Wyndham. He said police were taking a “proactive approach” to catching offenders, including patrolling hotspots and carparks in marked and unmarked police cars.
He said that while police had already made a number of arrests, it was important for drivers to take a “common sense approach” to help prevent their cars being targeted by thieves.
Acting Inspector Riches said this included locking parked cars, even those parked in residential streets and garages.
“There were a couple of jobs we had in January where three, four, five cars were broken into and they had all been unlocked,” he said.
Acting Inspector Riches said motorists should also take valuables out of their cars, or keep them out of sight.
“Why you would leave a laptop on the front seat of a car, or your wallet, doesn’t make sense,” he said.
“Also, if there is a pair of Ray Ban sunglasses on the dash or $60 in small change in the console, this is something that might induce an offender to break into a car.
“It’s happening in train station carparks, residential streets, shopping centres – right across the board,” he said.
Last year, police recorded 1373 thefts from motor vehicles in Wyndham (compared to 1479 the previous year) and 484 thefts of a motor vehicle (compared to 590 the previous year)
