Motorists should lock their cars or risk having tools and cash stolen, police have warned.
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Cars being left unlocked meant easier access for thieves, according to Bendigo Superintendent Brad Dixon.
"A lot of the cars are open, it's very rare that someone will break a window to get into a car," he said.
"We know that offenders will go along the street and just try car doors until something opens.
"We really need the community's help to try and tackle that one because it's really an opportunistic crime and it has no signs of slowing down."
In recent police figures thefts from motor vehicles took out the top spot with 1011 cases, followed by breaches of family violence orders and criminal damage at 762 and 745 cases, respectively.
Police said the increase in theft from motor vehicles was "difficult", with the most common items stolen being registration plates, tools and cash.
The data from the Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) also showed that more everyday items were being stolen from Greater Bendigo stores, with police believing it could be due to increased cost of living pressures.
"We've seen thefts of items such as liquor, groceries, clothes which indicates that people are either doing it tough and can't afford to buy those things, or they're the most attractive items to steal at the moment," Superintendent Dixon said.
"And I think we acknowledge that may be due to cost-of-living pressures."
The data showed there was a 9.5 per cent rise in criminal incidents recorded to the year ending June 30, compared to 2022.
Among the data, central Bendigo, Kangaroo Flat, Golden Square, Long Gully and Eaglehawk were the worst suburbs for highest criminal incidents.
Police targeting repeat youth offenders
Bendigo has also seen a rise in recorded offences of 11 per cent, including a more than 15 per cent rise in breaches of family violence orders compared to 2022.
The city recorded a 15 per cent rise in offences committed by children aged 10 - 17, a number Superintendent Dixon believes lines up with small numbers of youth "that commit a lot of crime".
"We've got a small cohort of really serious youth offenders," he said.
"And we know that those youth offenders are also committing serious crime in Melbourne and other regional areas.
The small cohort meant police were able to target repeat youth offenders.
"We're able to see some gains by targeting some of those recidivist offenders," Superintendent Dixon said.
Targeting all repeat offenders was possible for police due to what the superintendent said was a small number of "offenders in regards to [Bendigo's] population" that committed crime.
Downward turn likely
Despite the high numbers, the superintendent said, "we definitely saw our crime peak in the first half of 2023," and that he expected to see a downturn in next years' data.
"We're already well on the way to turning it around," Superintendent Dixon said.
High impact crimes such as aggravated burglaries and theft of motor vehicle, were part of the downward trend, according to the superintendent.
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