Ballarat hoons will be put on notice as a new team hits the road to crack down on dangerous driving in the area.
The Ballarat High Risk Driving Team was established to provide a dedicated and targeted response to hooning and reckless driving in the Ballarat region.
It follows concerns raised by residents during recent community forums and police surveys.
From this week, the team will saturate hot spot areas, proactively monitor recidivist hoons and investigate all hoon reports to hold offenders to account.
They will also follow up incidents where attending police have been unable to make arrests at the time due to safety reasons.
Those with a history of offending will remain closely in sight, with officers to conduct regular door knocks and patrols of areas offenders are known to frequent to ensure they are complying with bail conditions and licence suspensions.
The new team will work in collaboration with the Ballarat Highway Patrol and Ballarat Uniform.
If you witness a hoon incident as it is occurring, always call Triple Zero (000).
If you have dashcam or CCTV footage of intentional high-risk driving, contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or lodge a confidential report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.
Quotes attributable to Acting Inspector Brad Hall, Ballarat Local Area Commander:
"We know the community is rightly sick of hoon behaviour and so we are.
"Not only is it noisy, irritating and damaging to our roads but it is outright dangerous behaviour that could lead to fatal consequences.
"That's why we have launched this new team which sole focus is to identify, arrest and monitor hoons.
"Our message to recidivist hoons is clear - your time is up.
"If you choose to offend you won't just be facing serious criminal charges but continued monitoring from our high-risk driving team.
"Even if you get away with it on the night know it won't be long until police are knocking on your door."
