By Charlene Gatt
THE advent of global positioning system (GPS) devices has sparked a 74.2 per cent increase in thefts from motor vehicles in the City of Maribyrnong.
Crime figures for the 2007-08 financial year have also recorded a 24.2 per cent rise in motor vehicle theft, driving the municipality’s crime rate up 5.8 per cent from last year.
The trend was replicated across the Westgate Division, which covers the Maribyrnong, Brimbank, Wyndham, Melton and Hobson’s Bay areas.
Inspector Ian Geddes, from Footscray Police, said the findings were fairly predictable.
“We knew exactly where we were heading throughout the year and we’ve been trying to put strategies in place to mitigate some of the increases,” he said.
Taskforces like the recent Operation Bounce Back have highlighted the push to remove valuables from cars.
Number plate theft has also been on the rise.
Inspector Geddes said the opportunistic crimes were taking place in both public car parks and residential streets.
“A number of years ago theft in motor cars was a problem because the popular item at that time was car radios and CD players, so to combat that the industry coded radios to cars so that if you took that item out of the car, it couldn’t be used in any other car unless you had the code.”
He anticipates a similar technological measure will soon be in place for GPS units.
“It’s a two-pronged attack – people need to take responsibility for their own possessions and ensure that they’re not in view and we’re taking action in regard to preventative measures.”
Insp Geddes said the increased theft from motor vehicles had probably spawned the increased theft of motor vehicles.
He said cars made after 1995 were less likely to be stolen because of immobilising systems, but stressed that simple preventative measures like club locks were proven crime fighters in early-model vehicles.
According to recent figures from the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council, 665 cars were reported stolen in the City of Maribyrnong in 2007.
Of these, 157 were not recovered.
The trend has continued in 2008, with 270 vehicles stolen by 31 May. So far 85 have not been found.
Other Maribyrnong-specific crime statistics show a 16.8 per cent drop in drug cultivation, manufacturing and trafficking, a 13.6 per cent decrease in drug possession and use and a 15.4 per cent drop in assaults.
