Yesterday (Sunday August 3), 352 drivers rolled up to Westfield Belconnen and had their vehicles fitted with tamper proof screws as part of ACT Policing’s Project Safe Plate – combatting number plate theft.
Officer-in-Charge of Belconnen Police Station Sergeant Greg O’Ryan said it was pleasing to see so many Canberrans take a few minutes out of their weekend to attend the event, held between 10am and 2pm at Westfield Belconnen.
“Our ultimate aim is to stop thieves from stealing number plates and using them for criminal activity. Last year there were 1,237 incidents of number plate thefts in Canberra,” Sergeant O’Ryan said.
“Registration plates are often stolen by offenders as a precursor to other criminal activities, predominantly drive-offs from service stations and other crimes such as burglaries and the conveying of stolen property.”
“The replacement screws are fitted free-of-charge by ACT Policing officers, recruits and Volunteers in Policing. Fitting these special fasteners makes your registration plates less of a potential target for thieves.”
The weekend’s effort brings the total number of vehicles fitted with tamper proof screws this year to over 1,000.
Project Safe Plate, a joint partnership with local businesses, is held across Canberra throughout the year and the next event will be held in Woden during September. To find out more about this, and other community events, visit: www.police.act.gov.au/community/community-events
If your registration plates are stolen, report it to ACT Policing on 131 444.
(ACT Policing Media Release)
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