police checking car

Police work on car theft prevention in Brunswick, Coburg, Glenroy

Today, police across Brunswick, Coburg and Glenroy are hitting the streets and carparks as part of Operation Aware,  a campaign to educate owners about car theft prevention.  Operation Aware involves police patrolling carparks at railway stations and shopping centres checking for unlocked vehicles, and leaving valuables such as handbags and mobile devices in view.

Police say the aim is to change the behaviour of owners by contacting the owners if they leave their cars unlocked or valuable items on display.

When Operation Aware was first conducted in July they checked 4081 cars finding 151 were insecure.  In early August, police returned to the same spots to find that 135 cars out of 3596 were exposed to theft.

We just did the maths and the percentage is 3.7% in both cases.  Time will tell if this police campaign to change car owners’ behaviour can reduce the number of people who run the risk of having their cars stolen or broken into.

A quick update

Moreland Leader accompanied police on last week’s Operation Aware in Coburg and reported on number of  vehicles at risk of theft.  Across the division 3315 cars were checked with 115 vehicles either unlocked or with visible valuable items.  And the percentage is 3.4%.