By BELINDA NOLAN
AN AVERAGE of one drive by petrol theft is committed every day in Brimbank’s borders, Victoria Police figures have revealed.
Latest statistics provided to Star by Victoria Police show hundreds of drivers are filling up at the city’s bowsers each year and leaving service stations to foot the bill.
And with skyrocketing fuel prices, police warn the problem may only get worse.
In the 2009/2010 financial year, there were 512 petrol thefts recorded in the Brimbank Police Service Area.
The figure rises to 593 if you include drive bys committed in border suburbs, including Brooklyn and Tullamarine.
Deer Park, Caroline Springs, Cairnlea and Burnside area was the city’s worst hotspot for fuel theft, with 79 cases reported in the financial year.
St Albans, Kings Park and Kealba were just as attractive to fuel thieves, with 77 drive bys reported, while Ardeer also clocked up 77 thefts.
Services stations in the Derrimut, Sydenham and Taylors Lakes areas also copped their fair share of thefts recording between 59-76 thefts during the 12-month period.
Disturbingly, many of the crimes remain unsolved, with only 57 of the cases being solved or withdrawn.
Brimbank Police Inspector Michael Grainger said fuel theft continued to be a major problem in the Brimbank area.
The municipality currently has two police officers dedicated to monitoring and investigating fuel thefts.
Insp. Grainger said he believed the figures were just the tip of the iceberg, with many thefts going unreported by service station operators.
“The figures are generally reflective of petrol prices and social disadvantage,” Insp. Grainger said.
“It’s an issue that we’ve been grappling with for a long time and often with a rise in petrol prices, you see a rise in thefts.”
Insp. Grainger said identifying a culprit was a challenge as thieves often used stolen number plates or cars to commit the crime.
He said service station operators could take prevention measures, including introducing pre-paid for after hours purchases and installing cctv cameras.
“I think the issue is widespread, it’s not something that’s specific to Brimbank but we do have significant numbers of traffic travelling through the area and that does have an impact,” Insp. Grainger said.
“But we are aware of the problem and every petrol theft that is reported is investigated.”
