One of the state’s top police officers is begging the community not to leave valuables in cars after an alarming rise in thugs stealing from vehicles.
Scarborough chief prosecutor Craig Wanstall told PerthNow exclusively this week that his agency had recorded 326 cases of theft from a motor vehicle from January to May this year.
This figure is much higher than the 277 violations recorded in the same period last year.
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It’s a remarkable increase, but Senator Sgt Wanstall said COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions may have played a part in the low numbers recorded early last year.
Perth, Peel, and the South West were plunged into lockdown from January 31 to February 5 last year, and just two months later – from April 24 to April 27 – parts of the state went into lockdown for the second time.
“During COVID, our crime rates dropped dramatically; when it started, the community couldn’t move; they were confined to houses,” said Senator Sgt Wanstall.
“I don’t know if it’s a peak; if it hadn’t been for COVID, we would probably be at the same level last year as we are this year. COVID likely played a role in that figure for 2021.”
Scarborough Police handled 26 motor vehicle theft felonies over seven days in May in what Senator Sgt Wanstall called an “average week”.
An incident dealt with by the Glendalough station on May 25 involved a crook who entered an unlocked car and stole a laptop, bag, and bank cards that were being used fraudulently.
In another incident, the following day, sunglasses and personal items were stolen from an unlocked car parked in an apartment complex in Carine.
And on the last day of May, in Trigg, a wallet was stolen from the passenger seat of an unlocked car parked on the verge.
Sen. Sgt Wanstall said that for the Scarborough area, on average, a minimum of two to three motor vehicle thefts per night would be reported to the police.
“The modus operandi for these types of offenses is for offenders to smash windows or gain access to vehicles through unlocked doors and steal property,” said Senator Sgt Wanstall.
“Sometimes we have peaks where the perpetrators have targeted several vehicles in a street or parking lot.”
He said nighttime was common for opportunists to steal from a vehicle, especially if cars had been left on the roadside or in the front yard.
“I beg the community not to leave valuables in their vehicles,” he said.
“If possible, have vehicles locked up in garages, park them as close to your house or in well-lit areas as possible.”
Sen. Sgt Wanstall said leaving vehicles unlocked and laptops, purses, and purses left in cars were all a “crime of opportunity”.
“We have a CCTV team here that is going through CCTV images and trying to identify people, so we always encourage everyone to install CCTV,” he said.
“It certainly has identified people who break into cars at times, and to some extent, we have been able to identify and charge them.”
According to statistics from the WA Police Force Crime Timeseries, there is an increase in motor vehicle theft in most metropolitan precincts.
In Mirrabooka, Joondalup, Fremantle, Midland, Mandurah, and Cannington counties, violations between January and March increased compared to last year.
Cannington had seen the highest increase of any district, with 964 violations recorded between January and March this year, compared to last year when only 868 violations were recorded.
The district of Perth has seen a massive decline, with just 397 motor vehicle thefts from January to March, compared to 643 violations recorded in the same period last year.
The number of violations in the Armadale district has also fallen sharply, to 353 from January to March this year, compared to 553 registered during the same time in 2021.
