Victoria Police is heralding the success of Operation Trinity, after recovering more than 1000 stolen vehicles since the start of 2024 in three high-risk areas.
Between January and June 2024, 1005 stolen vehicles were recovered in Victoria, with Victoria Police reporting almost half of these were taken from Greater Dandenong, Cardinia and Casey.
About 1,000 of these cars have an estimated value of about 30.6 million USD. That works out to an average of about $30,000 each, which seems like a relatively low value, but the thefts are believed to be carried out by young riders rather than those looking for financial gain. .
This is despite a number of high-priced vehicles such as Porsches, Range Rovers, Jaguars and Maseratis being recalled, causing the average value to increase.
Since Operation Trinity began a year ago, Victoria Police have made more than 1400 arrests related to burglaries and vehicle thefts.
83.8% of arrested offenders were under 25 years old and 64.5% were under 18 years old.
Of Melbourne’s three south-east regions, Casey is considered the hot spot for vehicle theft, with 468 of the 1005 cars found there – as well as 411 from Dandenong and 126 from Cardina.
According to police intelligence, more than half of all vehicle thefts occur on residential streets and public locations, especially train stations and shopping center parking lots.
As part of Operation Trinity, Victoria Police deploys an additional 70 officers each night, including members of the Highway Patrol, Canine Team, Public Order Response Team and Air Team.
Between July and December 2023 alone, they recovered 1420 vehicles, understood to represent 94 per cent of all vehicles reported stolen in aggravated burglaries in Melbourne.
Acting Chief Superintendent Andy McKee, Deputy Police Commander for Operations said: “We know that Greater Dandenong, Casey and Cardinia are the worst dumping grounds in the state for stolen vehicles and that’s why. why we are watching these areas – and their offenders – like a hawk.” Trinity.
“In general, we don’t see cars being stolen for profit – youth and child offenders are targeting specific high-end vehicles for high-speed driving on whole city.
“Police are particularly concerned around young children with little or no formal driving experience getting behind the wheel of stolen cars on the road and putting innocent motorists at risk.
“That’s why we are targeting this crime every night as part of Operation Trinity, which has led to the arrest of more than 1400 thieves and car thieves over the past year.
“In addition to arresting these criminals, we are recovering stolen vehicles every day and returning them to their rightful owners.
“For those who commit these crimes, you can meet us at any hour of the day and night; We are here waiting to hold you accountable.”
Victoria Police have advised people to lock their cars, store valuables and park them in garages if possible.
