Police have charged two teens after an alleged stolen car fled from police throughout Melbourne’s south-east earlier this morning.
Uniform officers, alongside Operation Trinity units, caught sight of an allegedly stolen orange Holden Colorado utility on the Monash Freeway in Narre Warren about 1.20am.
The vehicle was observed driving along the Monash Freeway and throughout Warragul, Narre Warren, Hampton Park, Dandenong South and Pakenham.
With the assistance of the Air Wing, the Holden was allegedly driving erratically and travelling at speeds of up to 170km/h causing significant risk to the public.
Police successfully deployed stop sticks on Greens Road, Dandenong South.
The Holden was dumped in Hedley Place, Hampton Park and the duo fled on foot.
Officers moved in swiftly and arrested the pair in parkland nearby without incident.
A 16-year-old Armstrong Creek girl was charged with theft of motor vehicle and was bailed to appear at a children’s court at a later date.
A 15-year-old Hampton Park boy was charged with dangerous driving whilst being pursued by police, handle stolen goods, theft of motor vehicle and will appear at a children’s court at a later date.
The Holden was allegedly stolen from a residential address on City Vista Circuit in Cranbourne West on Saturday, 21 September about 4am.
Victoria Police has been specifically targeting burglars and car thieves each night since March 2023.
Operation Trinity, which runs from dusk until dawn across Melbourne is easily Victoria Police’s most well-resourced frontline policing operation at present.
On top of standard patrols, there are another 70 police including members of the Dog Squad, Public Order Response and Air Wing, specifically tasked with preventing and responding to burglaries and car thefts each night.
As a result of this intense focus, police arrested 673 burglars and car thieves almost 1,550 times over the past year.
A further 7,350 people have been processed for other offences detected by police working nightshift across the Trinity area of operations.
Latest police intelligence indicates that up to 80% of all aggravated burglaries in key hotspots are through unlocked doors/windows or unsuccessful attempts when the offender has discovered the property is locked.
As such, police implore the community to take simple steps such as locking all doors and windows on your home and car.
The data tells us that if you lock your doors, your chances of falling victim dramatically decrease.
