Car theft increased in Victoria in 2025, but only in these areas

New data shows certain areas bore the brunt of Victoria’s car theft increase last year. Use this map to see if theft got better or worse in your area.

Car theft increased by 61 per cent in some areas of Victoria last year, but plummeted in others.

New data shows that despite a 10 per cent state-wide increase, some Local Government Areas (LGAs) were hit much harder than others in 2025.

The map below shows how car theft changed from 2024 to 2025 across Victoria’s LGAs.

Where vehicle theft increased and decreased in Victoria in 2025

Figures released this month show Victoria recorded 32,013 motor vehicle theft offences in 2025, a 10 per cent increase from 2024, and the highest total number in more than 20 years.

All motor vehicle theft offence figures in this article also include attempted motor vehicle theft offences, which historically account for around 14 per cent of total recorded offences, with Victoria Police typically combining both actual and attempted motor vehicle thefts in its data.

Car theft offences decreased from 2024 to 2025 in 28 of Victoria’s 79 LGAs last year, remained unchanged in two, and increased in 49. Yarriambiack experienced the greatest drop in car theft, plummeting 69 per cent.

Yarriambiack saw 13 thefts in 2024, which dropped to four thefts in 2025.

Motor vehicle theft offences in Victoria 2016-2025

While Yarriambiack is one of Victoria’s least populous areas, more populated LGAs, including Greater Bendigo, Mildura, Monash, Kingston, and Frankston, also experienced drops in car theft of 35 per cent, 34.7 per cent, 8.3 per cent, 6.6 per cent, and 3.9 per cent, respectively.

The area with the highest percentage increase was the mountainous locale of Murrindindi, north-east of Melbourne, where vehicle thefts grew from 23 in 2024 to 37 in 2025 – a 60.9 per cent increase.

The LGA with the most thefts in 2025 was Casey, a highly populated council area in Melbourne’s east, which includes suburbs such as Narre Warren and Cranbourne.

Thefts in Casey increased from 1535 to 2014 between 2024 and 2025, up 31.2 per cent.

But while Casey ranks number one for total car thefts in Victoria, its population of about 400,000 people gives it a per-capita car theft rate of around 482 car thefts per 100,000 – almost half that of Maribyrnong (958), Melbourne (900), and Port Phillip (884).

Where vehicle theft increased and decreased in greater Melbourne in 2025

Victoria Police have blamed the wide availability of key reprogramming devices as the reason for Victoria’s rocketing vehicle thefts in recent years, estimating the devices are used in one in three car thefts.

These devices, intended for use by mechanics and locksmiths, plug into a vehicle’s on-board diagnostic (OBD) port and can allow for the bypassing of security measures on many popular models.

Police have specifically warned owners of some Holden, Toyota, and Subaru models that their cars are particularly vulnerable and have encouraged them to take precautions such as using a steering wheel lock, an aftermarket immobiliser, and parking their car off the street.

LGA	2023	2024	2025	Change vs 2024	Car thefts per 100,000 people in 2025
Murrindindi	34	23	37	60.9%	236
Alpine	18	10	16	60%	121
Glenelg	26	50	77	54%	385
Nillumbik	55	95	142	49.5%	222
Moorabool	116	109	155	42.2%	381
Brimbank	743	920	1295	40.8%	650
Wellington	102	102	138	35.3%	294
Wangaratta	54	46	62	34.8%	204
Maribyrnong	457	688	913	32.7%	958
Casey	1104	1535	2014	31.2%	482
Hume	980	1414	1801	27.4%	643
Banyule	319	395	500	26.6%	376
Melton	476	721	907	25.8%	389
Wyndham	890	1399	1744	24.7%	499
Moonee Valley	346	499	622	24.6%	474
Whittlesea	502	871	1076	23.5%	413
Buloke	7	13	16	23.1%	272
Corangamite	39	29	35	20.7%	222
Hobsons Bay	226	440	531	20.7%	548
Greater Shepparton	200	286	341	19.2%	483
Stonnington	447	653	774	18.5%	672
Pyrenees	20	37	43	16.2%	536
Boroondara	449	615	712	15.8%	397
Latrobe	352	408	472	15.7%	594
East Gippsland	98	102	117	14.7%	235
Port Phillip	661	884	1014	14.7%	884
Bass Coast	89	107	122	14%	275
Bayside	350	388	440	13.4%	412
Colac-Otway	36	24	27	12.5%	121
Northern Grampians	10	34	38	11.8%	323
Merri-bek	602	803	897	11.7%	475
Greater Dandenong	912	1184	1314	11%	778
Ballarat	588	696	769	10.5%	621
Loddon	22	21	23	9.5%	296
Cardinia	363	423	463	9.5%	345
Knox	308	527	570	8.2%	348
South Gippsland	74	112	121	8.0%	387
Darebin	657	1033	1110	7.5%	686
Melbourne	1113	1632	1751	7.3%	900
Greater Geelong	686	852	891	4.6%	301
Wodonga	153	168	175	4.2%	383
Moira	74	74	77	4.1%	249
Manningham	213	261	270	3.4%	203
Maroondah	173	364	376	3.3%	313
Hepburn	29	43	44	2.3%	259
Yarra Ranges	152	288	294	2.1%	183
Whitehorse	516	833	850	2.0%	458
Mornington Peninsula	332	569	577	1.4%	335
Glen Eira	400	521	523	0.4%	321
Mansfield	20	10	10	No change	91
West Wimmera	4	2	2	No change	52
Macedon Ranges	74	125	122	-2.4%	224
Frankston	488	723	695	-3.9%	478
Yarra	512	725	696	-4.0%	682
Mitchell	91	196	186	-5.1%	313
Monash	780	1008	941	-6.6%	444
Kingston	486	696	638	-8.3%	380
Gannawarra	22	35	32	-8.6%	308
Central Goldfields	29	44	38	-13.6%	276
Indigo	27	20	17	-15%	95
Baw Baw	135	221	183	-17.2%	290
Ararat	29	49	39	-20.4%	333
Swan Hill	36	53	40	-24.5%	190
Surf Coast	46	73	54	-26%	133
Benalla	20	48	35	-27.1%	237
Moyne	15	27	18	-33.3%	101
Mildura	334	424	277	-34.7%	478
Greater Bendigo	365	575	374	-35%	293
Mount Alexander	43	51	33	-35.3%	157
Towong	8	14	9	-35.7%	144
Campaspe	157	185	114	-38.4%	298
Golden Plains	65	71	43	-39.4%	160
Queenscliffe	3	5	3	-40%	85
Southern Grampians	12	27	16	-40.7%	97
Strathbogie	15	41	24	-41.5%	202
Warrnambool	41	71	36	-49.3%	99
Horsham	35	51	22	-56.9%	108
Hindmarsh	4	7	3	-57.1%	55
Yarriambiack	8	13	4	-69.2%	64

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