How you can help police catch car fire crooks

It comes after a rise in car thefts and a spate of car fires in recent weeks, which police are investigating.

Acting Inspector Shaun Bingham told The Courier that while incidents of theft of and from motor vehicles and arson dropped last year, there had been an uptick in the offences since December.

The decrease last year was partly due to the pandemic and the social restrictions put in place, he said, which saw increased guardianship over people's homes and property.

In late 2019, police actively targeted a group of known offenders - many who were incarcerated through 2020. However, some of these people have since been released from prison, coinciding with the easing of restrictions.

With increased social freedoms, community members now moving around town more and potentially falling back into old habits - such as leaving valuables visible on the seat of a car or even leaving it unlocked - Acting Inspector Bingham said there were increasing opportunities for opportunistic thieves.

And of the cars which are stolen, a percentage are burnt by the offender when they are dumped, Acting Inspector Bingham said.

"When there is a spike in motor vehicle thefts, there is a rise in vehicle arson," he said.

This is because offenders hold the view that it will destroy evidence, though police can still obtain evidence from burnt vehicles.

There have been a number of car fires since the beginning of the year, though Acting Inspector Bingham said it was less than the number which had occurred this time last year. And police want to keep it that way.

Police charged one offender with two of these car fires on January 25. They were remanded in custody.

With the Fire Danger Period currently in place in the region, Acting Inspector Bingham said the rise in car fires in recent weeks was worrying. However, he was adamant that police would catch and charge the offenders when they have enough evidence to do so.

And the community can also help. Acting Inspector Bingham said social media played an important role in communities such as Ballarat, as a way for people to connect with others.

Police actively gather valuable intelligence from open groups on social media, such as crime pages on Facebook, where community members post about stolen cars, crimes or suspicious vehicles or people.

"Police actively look at social media but there are sites and forums that we are shut out of," Acting Inspector Bingham said.

He said the people posting and commenting in these groups were clearly people concerned about community safety, so if they think something is worth noting on social media then they should take a minute to pass the information on to police.

"I call on people who are active on these sites to take an extra 60 seconds and take a screenshot or copy and paste the content into a Crime Stoppers report so it makes its way to us."

He said that while some people might think that police would not be interested, this was not the case - if it is an issue that affects community safety and is concerning for the community, then it is concerning for police, too.

"Even if it is something you think is trivial, it could be the one piece of information that we need. Let us determine whether it is valuable or not."