Dedicated operation established to curb inner city car break ins

A new police operation across St Kilda, South Melbourne, Prahran and Malvern has been established after an extreme group of offenders broke into almost 1,300 cars in the area over the past year.

New police intelligence reveals a group of 30 thieves were arrested 200 times and charged with breaking into 1,274 cars across Stonnington and Port Phillip since February 2025.

These offenders have driven a sharp spike in offending, with independent crime data showing theft from motor vehicle offences across Stonnington and Port Phillip increased by 44% in the twelve months to September 2025 - well above the state average.

Given the scale of offending, the Stonnington and Port Phillip Vehicle Crime Team established Operation Ignition at the start of this year.

The nightly operation has a stronger than ever focus on prevention, with officers targeting known hotspots to disrupt opportunistic thieves, and ensuring enforceable actions such as outstanding warrants are quickly carried out against prolific offenders.

This approach is showing signs of success with intelligence indicating lower car break in rates since the operation began, courtesy of the nightly police presence and rapid enforcement, which has led to 116 arrests in this time.

Some of the hardest hit areas include Williamstown Road and surrounding side streets in Port Melbourne, Chadstone Road in Chadstone, Montague Street in South Melbourne, Inkerman Street in St Kilda, and Chapel Street.

Numberplates are the most stolen item, accounting for around a third of all thefts from cars, while money, tools, laptops and wallets are also targeted.

Victoria Police advises vehicle owners to:

• Lock all doors and windows – even if you’re only leaving the car unattended for a short period of time. This includes in secure carparks, such as multi-level facilities which are often targeted.
• Ensure gates to carparks are closed after you enter and exit, as there have been several reports of tailgating.
• Remove tools from vehicles at the end of the day or install a lock box.
• Install anti-theft numberplate screws. These are affordable, easy to install and may prevent your numberplate being used to facilitate further crime.

More crime prevention tips can be found here: Theft from motor vehicles | Victoria Police.

If your car is broken into, report it via the Police Assistance Line on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.

Quotes attributable to Stonnington and Port Phillip Investigation and Response Detective Acting Inspector Nick Densley

“Thieves breaking into cars has become an increasing issue in suburbs such as St Kilda, South Melbourne, Prahran and Malvern.

“We have done a great job in holding our worst thieves accountable over the past year, with 30 extreme offenders charged with breaking into almost 1,300 cars in this time.

“However, we are determined to get on the front foot and prevent cars being broken into in the first place.

“Operation Ignition is applying the blowtorch to prolific thieves daily – whether it’s police cars patrolling known hotspots or officers keeping crooks honest by fronting them before court on outstanding matters.

“We’ve built strong intelligence profiles on offenders causing the most damage – ensuring our Vehicle Crime Team is making quicker than ever links between offending.

“It sounds basic, but a simple measure everyone can take is locking your car. A two second action can save a lot of money and hassle.”

Media Unit
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