Enforcing laws, investigating reported offences and prosecuting when appropriate takes place on a daily basis with regards to car thefts.
As the Officer in Charge of the Mackay Northern Beaches Acting Senior Sergeant Mitch Benson points out - all car owners have an opportunity to take action which will frustrate the thieves.
Statistics within the Mackay Northern Beaches division show that one in every two car thefts take place when thieves gain possession of your car keys.
As a result, officers will have dedicated time periods when they will perform foot patrols in residential streets and business locations in an effort to find unlocked cars and/or unattended cars with keys still present.
If face to face dialogue is possible, police will talk to the car owners about the likelihood of car theft taking place and how we can disrupt the efforts of thieves who are looking to steal your hard-earned possessions.
Vehicle security information will also be made available - particularly when face to face dialogue is not possible.
If you see police officers walking the streets in your area - day or night - inspecting vehicles, don't be alarmed.
"Our efforts to identify car thieves and hold them to account are still going to take place, we are taking on these targeted foot patrols in addition to that,” Acting Senior Sergeant Benson said.
"By continuing our enforcement efforts, educating the public on crime prevention techniques and reducing the opportunities for car thefts to occur we hope to see fewer car thefts taking place,” he added.
