By BRIDGET COOK
POLICE have again urged people to lock their cars to stop opportunistic thieves from stealing their valuables, which continues to be a huge problem in Casey.
This week police have released videos and images of thieves looking for unlocked cars to highlight how easy it is for them to do so.
In 2013, there were 1698 reports of thefts from cars in Casey – up 6.2 per cent from the previous year.
Casey CIU Detective Senior Sergeant Terry Rowlands said people were not getting the message about locking their cars outside their homes, and it was causing a lot frustration for police.
“We are seeing it again and again – items being stolen from unlocked cars,” he said.
“It’s a real thorn in our side.”
Sergeant Andrew Payne from Casey’s Tactical Anti-Crime Team said in most cases thieves were simply trying door handles to see if cars are unlocked, rather than smashing car windows.
“Basically, what we’ve been experiencing, particularly on weekends, is large groups of youths wondering streets, going into an area and trying 30 to 40 door handles of cars,” he said.
“Out of that, they might find 10 unlocked where they search consoles and can easily take valuables and wallets in a matter of 20 to 30 seconds.
“There is then a flow on effect where they use the tap-and-go stolen credit cards as much as they can before the owner even realises it’s stolen.
“They are not going out and smashing windows, it’s much simpler for them than that.”
Sgt Payne said it was extremely frustrating for police to continually find out that people’s cars were being left unlocked.
“The days where you can safely leave your car unlocked are long gone,” he said.
Sgt Payne said some people did not realise they weren’t activating their car’s remote central locking and he urged people to take more care.
“Ensure your car is locked before you leave it,” he said.
“There’s nothing more frustrating than having to cancel cards, dealing with banks and have to get a new licence and other cards.
“We have a huge problem with this in Casey so I urge everyone to ensure their car is locked so we can try and curb the problem.”
Visit the Berwick and Cranbourne News pages at starcommunity.com.au from tomorrow (Thursday) to see the footage of youths trying car door handles in Casey streets.
