400 cars hit

By Callan Date
CASEY motorists are under siege from desperate thieves who are going to extraordinary lengths to steal from cars.
Nothing is out of reach for the criminals who have stolen car wheels, tyres and lights as well as an array of valuable items being kept inside vehicles.
And no suburb is safe with thefts occurring in all parts of Casey.
Just last week cars in Doveton, Narre Warren, Berwick, Endeavour Hills, Cranbourne and Hampton Park were either stolen or broken into.
Concerning police just as much is the effort thieves are putting in to steal.
A Narre Warren motorist woke last Saturday to find all four wheels and tyres had been taken from their Holden Commodore.
Bricks had replaced the wheels, worth $1500, on the car that was parked in the resident’s Sundown Court driveway.
Thieves also came prepared when they stole a rear tail light and lens cover, valued at $1400, from a Kenworth truck parked in Edrington Park Drive in Berwick last week.
A laptop computer and power tools were also stolen from cars. There were also thefts from a Mercedes van in Cranbourne North and a Toyota station wagon in Hampton Park.
Police continue to investigate each theft but say car owners need to do more to make sure they’re not the next victim.
Detective Senior Sergeant Ian Wilcox of Narre Warren Criminal Investigation Unit (CIU) said the recent crime figures were a disappointing trend.
“Theft from motor cars is definitely on the increase,” Det Sen Sgt Wilcox said.
He said it was not just cars parked in the street that were being targeted with driveway thefts just as common.
“Whether or not they are driving around on the night (of the crime) or selecting the car during the day and going back to it at night.
“They may be crimes of opportunity or they may be planning them.” Narre Warren CIU officers have investigated 974 thefts from motor cars over the past 12 months.
Just under 400 thefts of motor cars have also been reported.
Det Sen Sgt Wilcox said car owners needed to change their mindset if they believed they could still leave valuable items in the car while it was unattended.
“I just hope the message gets through to people that they need to take property out of their car.
“Everyone has got to be that extra bit vigilant.”
He said, if motorists had to leave their car in the street, that parking under a light could prevent thieves from stealing car parts.
“At the present time the (Narre Warren) Tasking Unit is being deployed very much on investigating theft of and theft from motor cars along with petrol thefts.
“It is certainly something that needs resources and we will continue to react to the crimes and investigate them thoroughly.”