With thefts from cars in Launceston having more than doubled in the past two months compared to last year, Tasmania Police is cracking down.
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From July to August, 51 motor vehicle thefts had been recorded in Launceston, 130 per cent more than during the same period in the previous year.
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The rise in thefts has made police take note and Launceston Inspector Nathan Johnston said there would be a crackdown on the "opportunistic" crime.
"There's been a slight rise in motor vehicle burglaries from in the Launceston area and, although total offences are down, motor vehicle burglaries have risen," he said.
Inspector Johnston said there was a typical pattern of behaviour for the crime, but it made it more difficult to investigate.
"Criminals are opportunistic and will target vehicles that have valuables inside of them and are unlocked," he said.
It is literally people walking the streets checking vehicles, and if they're unlocked they go in and grab some gear out of it.
- Tasmania Police Inspector Nathan Johnston
"But with unlocked vehicles, when they're broken into the ability for us to do forensic analysis of it is more difficult."
He said when cars were locked, and more difficult to break into, the potential for more conclusive clues to be left behind increased.
Inspector Johnston said the majority of instances police had been alerted to were of thefts from unlocked cars.
The crackdown came amid a trend upwards in the form of crime in recent months, which saw an overall increase in reports from April through to August.
There were 125 thefts from cars in that four-month period in 2021 compared to 105 the previous year. But for the entire year thefts from cars to the end of August had dropped significantly from 252 to 189.
Since 2017 the number of thefts from cars had flown down. From 2017 to 2019 the Northern District averaged more than 588 of the thefts, but since then the average had dropped to about 400.
The downward trend in the specific crime was mirrored across overall offences in Northern Tasmania, with the number dropping from 6191 to 4940.
Inspector Johnston said there were a number of things the Launceston community could do to assist in the police crackdown.
"Lock your vehicles, take any valuables out of them, and, if there is the ability to do so, park under a street lighting," he said. "It's just another way of assisting and deterring."
Anyone with information is urged to contact police on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers anonymously on 1800 333 000.
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