Police use car to drive home that Kings Park is a crime hotspot

POLICE have an information car at Kings Park telling tourists and the public how to keep valuables safe.

The visitors’ hotspot is the largest single target for thieves stealing from vehicles in Perth.

“Traditionally in the Perth police district, 35 per cent to 40 per cent of thefts from cars are in the park’s main car park,” Sergeant Warren Ameduri said.

The ‘Gilt’ information car – an acronym of ‘Gone in less than 60 seconds’ – was brought to the car park yesterday.

“Kings Park accounts for a lot of our stealing from cars and the crooks have worked that out, and they go up there, sit back, and it’s pretty much easy pickings,” Sgt Ameduri said.

Tourists were often unaware of the danger, and their hire cars were identifiable to criminals throughout the year.

In the past two years, incidents have included a theft of cameras, handbags and $US10,000, while grabs of Malaysia currency have also been reported.

“In the worst cases it’s the amount of passports people lose, and that can leave a very unsavoury feeling for people visiting WA as it’s often on the first or last days of their trips,” Sgt Ameduri said.

Police took a Malay-speaking officer to the park to talk to many of the visitors about security recently.

“Tourists stand out and the crooks know they carry a lot of valuable stuff with them,” Sgt Ameduri said.

The Gilt car shows how to make valuables safe, and has a video showing how it takes just 60 seconds for a window to be smashed, the car searched and property taken.

“Sometimes it’s less than six seconds,” Sgt Ameduri said.

Dashboard display cards available at the car tell criminals smashing a window is not worth it because the tourists’ or visitors’ cars are empty.