Local theft spike prompts police warning

Theft figures have climbed across Bass Coast and South Gippsland, and police are urging local residents to report even minor incidents and keep better records of their valuables.

Figures presented at the recent Bass Coast Neighbourhood Policing Forum showed 620 “other theft” offences were recorded across the police service area between April 2025 and March 2026.

That was up from 404 during the previous 12-month period.

By contrast, offences involving theft from a motor vehicle fell slightly from 333 to 320, but total recorded offending increased 7.9 per cent from 5837 offences to 6297.

Detective Sergeant Leigh Cole said high-volume property offending remained a major concern, although aggravated burglaries and some other serious offences had begun trending down over the previous five months.

“Those high-volume property crimes are still probably our major concern,” he said.

Detective Sergeant Cole said thefts could occur at any time, although nighttime presented more of an attractive opportunity for offenders, because there are fewer people on the road.

He said police provided 24-hour coverage across Bass Coast and South Gippsland, but offences aren’t always reported promptly.

Sometimes local residents don’t consider the items stolen as valuable enough to report to police, however, information about what people have seen or heard could help police solve or prevent further offences.

Recovering stolen tools presented another problem.

“Tools are a really hard one for us to track,” Detective Sergeant Cole said.

Tradies often mark their equipment with coloured spray paint, but it often doesn’t help when trying to distinguish one drill from another.

“How many different shades of blue are there out there that you can spray a drill with?” he said.

“Once we start finding this property, it’s very hard for us to be able to find owners for it.”

Detective Sergeant Cole encouraged residents to keep an inventory of their tools and valuables, including serial numbers and detailed descriptions.

He also said this information could be added to a report and later used to connect recovered property with its owner.

Acting Superintendent Dowswell said there’s also a responsibility for the resident to make their property as difficult as possible for offenders to access.

“There’s a responsibility for the owner as well to secure their premises,” he said.

The figures and advice mentioned were presented to about 10 community members at Wonthaggi Town Hall on Friday, September 11.