00:00Ella is one of thousands of Victorians who have had their cars stolen this year.
00:07In late July, offenders took her car from outside her home in Frankston
00:11before ramming it into a police vehicle and crashing it two days later.
00:15It was just in pieces. The inside of it was destroyed.
00:19Every part of the outside of the car was destroyed. It was just horrible to look at.
00:25We're at 31,000 cars stolen for this last year.
00:28That's over 10,000 more than the previous year.
00:31Police say Ella's car was likely stolen using technology that targets cars with keyless entries and push-start systems
00:37through reprogramming devices.
00:39Our intelligence suggests that it's one in five vehicles that are stolen by this method
00:43and certain makes and models such as Holden Commodores, Toyotas and Subarus are being targeted.
00:50Some of our most prolific youth offenders are using these devices to steal cars
00:55and then driving them at extreme speed.
00:58The number of collisions involving stolen cars has risen to 760 in the last year.
01:03And police are urging people to take extra precautions to ensure their cars are safe.
01:08Police say using anti-theft devices like steering wheel locks,
01:11Faraday pouches for keys and anti-theft number plate screws can go a long way to ward off offenders.
01:17While parking in safer spots, removing valuables from vehicles and locking cars may also help.
01:23You know, you should be safe in your house. You should be safe parking out the front of your house.
01:27But in this day and age, things are changing and, you know, we just need to take those extra steps.
01:32Ella is still coming to terms with what's happened to the car she worked hard for.
01:36It's actually quite hard for my brain to comprehend that it's happened
01:40and you think it's not going to happen to you and it does. It could happen to anyone.
01:45Let's have these for free.
01:46I think we're going to die.
01:47So, thank you.
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