A coordinated effort by police across multiple suburbs overnight led to the arrest of five teenagers following an aggravated burglary in Brighton.
Police were first called out to Brighton around 12.20am following reports of an aggravated burglary in Moule Avenue.
Officers were told the residents of the home disturbed an intruder who ran from the home.
It was then discovered one of the vehicles from the property, a 2015 Mercedes Tourer, was stolen.
Police on patrol spotted the car on Nepean Highway, near South Road, heading towards the city when the Air Wing was called in to assist.
The Air Wing assisted units on the ground as the car travelled through various areas including, St Kilda Road, Southbank then onto the Monash Freeway and over the Bolte Bridge.
The driver of the car was at times detected travelling up to speeds of 170km/h.
The stolen car exited the freeway at Footscray Road before heading into Yarraville where it was dumped in Yarraville Gardens.
Five people were seen running from the vehicle before they jumped fences into back yards and various properties.
The Air Wing assisted local police, and a Dog Squad unit, as they moved in and cordoned the area.
Two youths were arrested after they were found on the roof of a home, two were arrested trying to hide in a backyard shed and a fifth teen was arrested in a backyard.
The four males and one female, ranging in age from 15 to 17 are all assisting police with their enquiries.
Detectives are following up whether the youths were also involved in an aggravated burglary in Paschall Road in Bentleigh shortly after the Brighton incident and before they were spotted by police; where another vehicle was also used and dumped after it crashed into a parked car.
It is expected they will be interviewed in relation to the aggravated burglary, theft of motor vehicle and traffic related offences.
Moorabbin Crime Investigation Unit are investigating.
Aggravated Burglary2023SeptemberArrest of five teens in Yarraville – Aggravated burglary in Brighton
Background
Victoria Police has a dedicated Melbourne-wide operation in place targeting aggravated home burglaries and associated car thefts.
As part of Operation Trinity, significant numbers of local police are working alongside the Air Wing, Dog Squad and Public Order Response Team throughout the night to prevent burglaries and car thefts from occurring.
The operation sees police saturating areas where intelligence indicates offending is most likely to occur, using Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology to identify suspect vehicles, and rapidly responding to incidents when they do occur.
Since 25 March, Operation Trinity has led to 1,556 arrests, including 382 in relation to home burglaries and car thefts. The remaining arrests related to drug and other miscellaneous offences detected due to the strong police presence. Police have also completed 492 proactive checks on known offenders since late June, resulting in 47 breaches of bail being detected.
This intensive focus is having an impact, with the level of offending decreasing since Operation Trinity commenced.
The aggravated burglaries occurring are being driven predominantly by youth offenders targeting unlocked homes, with the intention of stealing car keys. No confrontation is evident in more than 95% of these incidents.
Police will continue targeting those seeking to break into homes and steal cars, however we also implore the community to take simple home security measures, such as locking all doors and windows.
Operation Trinity Data
Since 25 March, Operation Trinity has led to:
• 1556 arrests, including:
o 382 arrests in relation to burglaries and car thefts.
o 1174 arrests in relation to crimes such as drug and other miscellaneous offences, which are also detected due to the significant number of local and specialist police units out each evening.
o 492 visits to known offenders over the past nine weeks.
o 47 breaches of bail identified as a result.
*Above statistics as of 9 September and only includes arrests made overnight as part of Operation Trinity. This does not include follow up investigations into incidents that occur of this nature.
• In the three months prior to Operation Trinity, there was a weekly average of around 30 burglaries that also led to a car being stolen
• As a result of the operation, this weekly average has dropped to 18 such incidents per week.
• The overwhelming majority of burglaries leading to car thefts do not involve known youth gang members. Police intel indicates most offending is driven by youth networked offenders with no formal connection to known gangs.
