Residents are being urged to secure their car number plates following a spate of thefts.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Police officers will fit anti theft one-way screws free of charge in an effort to prevent number plates being stolen.
Wollongong Police District’s crime manager Detective Inspector Brad Ainsworth is encouraging vehicle owners to visit Bunnings in Bellambi on Thursday between 10am and 2pm to take advantage of the service.
Detective Inspector Ainsworth said residents raised concerns about number plate theft at a public forum in Corrimal last week.
“From October 1 to 23, there have been 26 sets of number plates stolen in the Wollongong area,” he said.
“These incidents have mainly occurred at Wollongong, Figtree and East Corrimal. It is disturbing.
“The crooks know there is usually a 10 to 12 hour window before the plates are reported as stolen.
“The thieves put at least one of the number plates on the vehicle and they go commit a crime.”
Detective Inspector Ainsworth said Wollongong Police had only found one set of stolen plates this month.
“The crooks are using the plates or saving them to commit other crimes,” he said.
Criminals are using the stolen plates on other vehicles to steal fuel, when they commit break and enters or steal items from other cars.
“This is a recent trend,” Detective Inspector Ainsworth said. “There has been a real spike in the number of reported thefts.
“In a normal month, there would be half a dozen number plate thefts.
“In the past three days we have not had any reports of stolen number plates.
“We think that is linked to the couple of arrests for different crimes in Wollongong, Figtree and Lake Heights we have made recently.”
Locals are encouraged to attend the free event.
“The initiative is a good opportunity to install anti theft screws,” Detective Inspector Ainsworth said.
“The screws will make it harder for thieves to steal the plates.
“The screws save us and residents a lot of hassle.”
For those who can not make it to the event, Wollongong police likely will have the screws available at subsequent open days or at the police station. Different screws are used for different vehicles.
Detective Inspector Ainsworth reminded people to not leave their valuables in their car.
