With plate theft increasing by 20 per cent statewide, these maps and tools show where number plate theft actually rose and fell in 2025.
Number plate theft in Victoria increased by 20 per cent last year, rising from 26,941 recorded offences in 2024 to 32,228 in 2025. But this increase isn't spread evenly across the state, with plate theft more than doubling in some parts of the state, while halving in others.
Type your postcode into the box below to see how number plate theft has increased or decreased in your area. Further down this article are maps that also display the same statistics for most Local Government Areas (LGAs) and postcode areas in Victoria.
The pattern of increasing number plate thefts over recent years closely follows that of vehicle theft. Victoria recorded 32,013 motor vehicle theft offences in 2025, a 10 per cent increase from 2024.
Number plate theft per cent increase in Local Government Areas of Victoria
Thefts of plates more than doubled in the rural areas of Southern Grampians, Loddon, Mansfield, Buloke. But these areas still had very low cases, with none recording more than 16 reports of number plate theft in 2025.
Out of the 32 LGAs that make up Greater Melbourne, Melbourne City Council's LGA had the highest rate of increase, up 56 per cent from 2024.
The LGA of Melbourne encompasses areas such as Docklands, the city centre, North Melbourne, and the University of Melbourne.
The area with the largest increase in total cases was Brimbank in Melbourne's east, which experienced an increase of 479 reports, a 38 per cent rise compared to 2024.
Number plate theft per cent increase in Local Government Areas of Melbourne
Stolen and cloned number plates are often used to conceal the true registration details of a vehicle being used while committing other crimes, a Victoria Police spokesperson told Drive last year.
“Stolen and cloned number plates can be used by offenders to hide the identity of a vehicle when committing other crimes such as burglaries, ram raids, petrol drive offs, toll evasion and to evade police,” the spokesperson said.
“Number plate theft and cloning is often at the centre of more serious offending.”
Statistics for plate theft only included physically stolen plates, as reported by Drive last year; Victoria Police do not record data regarding cloned number plates.
Reports of stolen number plates and car theft in Victoria 2016-2025
Motorists can replace their number plate screws with anti-tamper screws to make it more difficult for number plates to be physically stolen from cars.
The western Victorian postcodes of 3300 (Hamilton) and 3304 (Dartmoor and Heywood region) experienced the biggest percentage increase of number plate theft, soaring 400 per cent.
However, this was due to an increase in Hamilton from just two reported plate thefts in 2024 to ten in 2025. While Dartmoor and Heywood's postcode of 3304 experienced an increase from just one reported theft in 2024 to five in 2025.
Number plate theft per cent increase by postcode
There are 140 postcodes displayed on the map as NaN (Not a Number) due to recording zero thefts in 2024, then recording no change or an increase in 2025. But of these postcodes, none recorded a total count of more than five thefts in 2025.
Other areas that recorded notable increases last year include South Morang (3752) where thefts increased 190 per cent from 42 to 122, and Flemington (3031) where thefts increased 154 per cent from 26 to 66.
A drop of 100 per cent was experienced in 52 postcodes, due to thefts dropping from very low numbers in 2024, to zero in 2025. A further 134 other suburbs also experienced a wide range of decreases; details for each can be seen in the maps.
Number plate theft per cent increase in Melbourne postcodes
No crime statistics data for 2026 is yet available at time of publication. Crime Statistics Victoria will release data for the first three months of 2026 on 18 June 2026.
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.
