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

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.

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.

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).

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.

Max is the News Publishing Coordinator for Drive. He enjoys creating engaging digital content, including videos, podcasts, interactive maps, and graphs. Prior to Drive, he studied at Monash University and gained experience working for various publications. He grew up playing Burnout 3: Takedown on the PS2 and was disappointed when real life car races didn’t have the same physics.

Read more about Max Stevens