With numberplate theft at record highs, Victoria Police is urging owners to fit anti-theft screws to their vehicles.
Across the state, numberplate thefts have surged by 50% to the highest number recorded in the state, with 29,790 recorded over the last year, equivalent to 83 a day or one every 17 minutes.
Thefts of numberplates account for over a third of all items stolen from cars across the state, which continues to be the most common and fastest growing crime in Victoria.
Not only is it an inconvenience to car owners, numberplate theft is often at the centre of more serious offending.
Stolen numberplates are often used by offenders to hide the identity of a vehicle when committing other crimes such as burglaries, ram raids, petrol drive offs and to evade police.
Just recently in June, an alleged stolen Toyota Landcruiser drove through a shopping centre in Preston while allegedly bearing stolen numberplates.
It is also believed stolen and cloned numberplates, along with stolen vehicles, have been used in incidents linked to several arsons at tobacco shops and associated businesses being investigated by the Lunar Taskforce.
The Crime Statistics Agency data indicates the top five areas for numberplate thefts over the year ending March 2025 are:
- Casey (2,139 numberplate thefts)
- Hume (1,966 numberplate thefts)
- Greater Dandenong (1,581 numberplate thefts)
- Wyndham (1,449 numberplate thefts)
- Brimbank (1,414 numberplate thefts)
Police are regularly seizing stolen numberplates, particularly during operations utilising Automatic Numberplate Recognition Technology.
ANPR technology allows police to rapidly scan vehicles and immediately identify any cars bearing false or stolen numberplates.
Six stolen numberplates were seized in a recent operation conducted in Brimbank, which is the fifth highest area for numberplate thefts across the state.
There were 1,414 thefts of numberplates over the last year, which has increased by 40%.
As a result, Brimbank police are running a Safe Plate Day event this weekend where the community can attend and receive a free anti-theft screw fitted to their vehicle.
Police will be engaging with the community to raise awareness about the ways numberplate theft can be prevented and helping to assist install the screws to any cars.
These days are regularly run by police across the state.
All vehicle owners are urged to install anti-theft screws, which are also available from hardware stores, automotive parts stores and petrol stations.
The Safe Plate event will be taking place this weekend at the below locations:
- Bunnings Sunshine - Saturday 12 July 10am until 2pm
- Bunnings Taylors Lakes - Sunday 13 July 10am until 2pm
Police are also urging the community to blur number plate details when advertising vehicles online, or when sharing photos on social media to avoid the likelihood of a vehicle's numberplate being cloned.
Anyone who has been the victim of a number plate theft or suspected cloning activity is urged to contact the Police Assistance Line on 131 444.
Quotes attributable to Keilor Downs Police, Acting Sergeant, Sam Romano:
"Number plate theft is often at the centre of more serious offending, which is why we want the community to take preventative steps to protect their plates.
"Installing a simple measure such as an anti-theft screw can be the difference between having your numberplate stolen or not.
"We have more capabilities than ever to detect stolen numberplates on our roads, so we'd strongly encourage those thinking of using them to hide their vehicle to think again."
