'Don't help the thieves': More than a car a day stolen in the Illawarra

A spate of vehicle thefts and steal from vehicle cases in Farmborough Heights has left police calling on the public to stop making it easy for thieves.

"Far too often people are leaving their keys in their vehicle," Lake Illawarra Police District Inspector Luke Geradts said.

"That is their [thieves] primary way of offending, just continually walking up down the street trying vehicles until they find one."

It's not only your car that could be taken, it's whatever you've left inside it.

"If there's any values they might take them," Insp Geradts said.

If you've left your garage remote in your vehicle that become a target too, with thieves using that for easy access to what's in your garage and, if you've got an unlocked internal door, they can get into your home too.

Wollongong local government area had the highest number of vehicle thefts during 2023 with 368 taken, this is up from 332 the year before.

In Shellharbour there were 101 thefts (down from 103) and Kiama had the lest at 28 (up from 21), data from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research shows.

Steal from vehicle cases are also highest in Wollongong at 1183 (up from 984), followed by Shellharbour at 386 (down from 258) and Kiama at 80 (down from 70).

Complacency is suburbs people perceive as safe is driving up thefts.

"They're living in an area that is largely a safe area and this can happen all over Illawarra," Insp Geradts said.

"It's really opportunistic and unfortunately they can hit any suburb on any given night."

While some people get their stolen car back, other times vehicles are used in subsequent crimes and left damaged, torched and destroyed.

Police urge people not to leave car keys inside your front door, or within view of front windows.

If you live in a two-storey home that has an alarm and your bedrooms are upstairs, put the alarm on downstairs each night.

Insp Geradts said most importantly, report thefts to the Police Assistance Line on 131 444 as this helps inform officers of crime hot spots and allows officers to more proactively patrol suburbs.