Ballarat car thieves put on notice

A new investigation team has arrested 45 car thieves and recovered more than 100 stolen cars in the Ballarat area over the last eight weeks.

The Divisional Crime Investigation Team, which is made up of detectives, general duties and Highway Patrol, launched in late March to target rising car thefts and theft from cars.

Since then, the team has arrested 45 alleged car thieves and laid more than 100 charges including car theft, stealing from a car, handling stolen goods and dangerous driving.

Recent arrests include:

• A 16-year-old boy from the Ballarat area who was arrested on 9 May following a series of car thefts across Ballarat between 22 April and 4 May. A number of vehicles were allegedly stolen including a Toyota Hilux, Ford Everest, Ford Ranger, Subaru Outback and Toyota Rav4. It will be alleged the boy deliberately swerved at police when they attempted to intercept the stolen Subaru on 22 April. The boy has been charged with 22 offences including eight counts of car theft, two counts of reckless exposure of police officer to risk by driving, and theft from motor vehicle. He was remanded to appear before a children’s court at a later date.

• A 21-year-old man who was located in an allegedly stolen red Toyota 86 coupe in Bacchus Marsh on 5 May. Officers also discovered stolen property allegedly linked to a series of theft from vehicles in the Ballarat area. The Wendouree man was charged with theft of motor vehicle, three counts of handling stolen goods, fraudulently using registration plates and commit indictable offence while on bail. He faced Ballarat Magistrates’ Court and was bailed to appear again on 4 June.

• A 39-year-old man who attended a Sebastopol licensed venue in an allegedly stolen white Mazda utility on 15 May. The vehicle had allegedly been stolen from the Ballan area the night before. Officers arrested the Ballarat East man inside the venue and charged him with theft of motor vehicle, handling stolen goods, possessing the proceeds of crime, unlicensed driving and going equipped to steal. He was bailed to appear before Ballarat Magistrates’ Court on 13 July.

Detectives have also recovered more than 100 stolen cars as part of the operation.

Car theft continues to rise across the state, with the latest Crime Statistics Agency data showing more than 32,000 cars were stolen in 2025.

This has directly coincided with a surge in car thieves using key mimicking or cloning technology to override car security systems.

Statewide police intelligence estimates a third of all cars are now likely to be stolen in this manner.

The Ballarat local government area is seeing similar trends, with 769 vehicles stolen in 2025 – up from 10 per cent the year before.

In response, Ballarat police launched the DCIT to identity, arrest and hold to account car thieves.

The operation will continue for the foreseeable future.

To help prevent thefts, police are urging owners of vehicles to look at a range of preventative measures to help deter thieves, including an on-board diagnostic port lock which prevents an offender connecting a reprogramming device to your vehicle.

These locks are highly affordable and self-installable.

Old fashioned club type locks on steering wheels and brake pedals are also still effective deterrents with observations of offenders walking away from cars fitted with these devices.

Opportunistic offenders continue to target unlocked vehicles, so police are also reminding drivers to always lock doors and windows and to remove valuables from plain sight.

Anyone who witnesses suspicious behaviour around parked vehicles should report it to police via Triple Zero (000).

For any non-urgent reports call the Police Assistance Line on 131 444.

If you have information about a stolen car, report it to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or file a confidential report online at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au

A full list of anti-theft measures can be found on the Victoria Police website: https://www.police.vic.gov.au/preventing-motor-vehicle-theft.

Quotes attributable to Detective Inspector Andrew Brady, Investigation and Response Manager:

“This new team has been working tirelessly - at all hours of the day and night – to locate car thieves and remove dangerous drivers from the road.

“We are determined to make Ballarat a hostile environment for car thieves and that’s evident in the 45 arrests and 100 stolen cars recovered.

“This important work will continue, however we ask the community to remain vigilant by always ensuring your vehicles are locked, parking off the street where possible and installing anti-theft measures.

“Our message to offenders is clear – if you choose to steal a car in Ballarat, you will be arrested and you will be held to account.”

Media Unit

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