A BOY and girl aged 14 were arrested in Frankston North last week on car theft charges.
Sergeant Duncan McGorrery, of the Shadow Taskforce, praised an observant neighbour who alerted police to two cars – a Mitsubishi Outlander and a Mazda 2 – parked around the corner from the children’s house, Thursday 3 November. In a boon to police, the neighbour was also able to name the Caucasian offenders and point out where they lived.
Sgt McGorrery visited the house which he said was occupied by about 10 teens of similar ages and a single mother. He arrested the pair and charged them with two counts each of theft of motor car.
The boy was remanded in custody and the girl released. They will appear at a children’s court at a later date.
Police urge residents to be their eyes and ears in tracking down car thieves.
“Community interaction is a great help to us,” Sgt McGorrery said. “If residents could be aware of what new cars are being parked in their street and let us know of anything unusual that would be great help.
“We had been looking for these kids for two days.” He said that, as part of high-visibility policing, crews would stake out areas, such as Frankston North, looking for young car thieves. “There are a lot of vehicles being stolen, and often it is because drivers leave their cars unlocked, with the keys in the ignition,” he said.