By Bonny Burrows
Numberplates are the single most stolen item in the state, but thanks to a Neighbourhood Watch initiative, that may no longer be the case.
Saturday’s Operation Safe Plate, held at Bunnings Pakenham for the first time, saw Neighbourhood Watch and Victoria Police come together to install one-way safety screws on local vehicle numberplates as a way to deter crime.
Neighbourhood Watch Cardinia secretary David Farrelly said the simple measure went a long way in reducing the likelihood of stolen plates and related crimes.
“You can put them on, but you can’t take them off, that is the point,” Mr Farrelly said.
Mr Farrelly said stolen plates were used in a number of crimes including fuel theft, speeding, road rage, ram-raiding and on unregistered and unroadworthy cars as a way of deterring police.
“The amount of crime one can commit with stolen numberplates is extraordinary,” Mr Farrelly said.
“If we can make numberplates harder to steal, it will make a big difference to crime figures which is tremendous for something so simple.”
The one-way screws can be purchased from Neighbourhood Watch Cardinia at any of its local events.
They can be easily installed with a flathead screwdriver.
Mr Farrelly said Saturday’s event attracted an estimated couple of hundred of vehicles.
“We were non-stop and had at least two cars at any one time. We were constant, so really happy,” Mr Farrelly said.
He said Neighbourhood Watch will continue to run the event in the future.
