On Wednesday, 5th November 2025, Lane Cove Council, in conjunction with the North Shore Area Command Police, held a community workshop on safety in Lane Cove.

The speaker was Senior Constable Dom Trevor, the Crime Prevention Officer located at Chatswood Police Station.  Snr Constable Trevor said the North Shore PAC had three police stations in its area: Chatswood, North Sydney, and Mosman.

At the community workshop was a group of residents from Riverview who have been experiencing attempted break-ins in their area every two to three weeks by a group of young men, all wearing masks and hoodies.  They were particularly interested in accessing vehicles parked in carports, but they had also attempted to break into houses, and one of them had an axe.

Strike Force Sweetenham

During the community safety meeting, Senior Constable Dom Trevor, mentioned that the police were well aware of groups targeting suburbs where there were luxury cars and that Strike Force Sweetenham had been set up. He noted that the police believe that youths are paid money to steal cars for crime gangs.

Strike Force Sweetenham targets:

• Theft of motor vehicles, especially high-end/luxury and high-performance cars
• Break-in offences linked to vehicle theft, where offenders often enter properties to steal keys or vehicles.
• Criminal groups/youth crime networks involved in the thefts.

The NSW Police 2024/2025 Annual Report, released in September 202,5 noted:

“North West Metropolitan Region (NWMR) continued with the highly successful Strike Force Sweetenham, targeting aggravated break and enter offences, the theft of luxury high performance vehicles and links to organised crime. During the reporting period, Strike Force Sweetenham was expanded to include resources from CMR and preferred 1,517 charges against 265 offenders.”

Man Arrested for Allegedly Recruiting Youths

In January 2026, NSW Police arrested two boys for allegedly stealing vehicles.

This action led to the arrest of a 22-year-old Rivestone man for allegedly recruiting youths to steal cars in exchange for money.

How The Arrests Unfolded

At about 1.30 am on Tuesday, 6 January 2026, police were called to a home on Wellbank Street, Concord, after reports that two cars had been stolen during a break-and-enter.

About 2.20 am that day, police from Blacktown Police Area Command initiated a pursuit of one of the stolen vehicles, a white Hyundai i30, in Doonside. Road spikes were deployed, and the vehicle stopped.

Investigators attached to Strike Force Sweetenham commenced an investigation into the incident.

The alleged driver, a 16-year-old boy, was arrested and taken to Blacktown Police Station and charged with:

• Police pursuit not stop and driving dangerously
• Take and drive conveyance without the consent of owner
• Learner not accompanied
• Aggravated enter dwelling with intent to commit a serious indictable offence – knowing people there
• Drive conveyance without the consent of the owner
• Dispose motor vehicle part; theft equal to serious indictable offence

He appeared before the children’s court on Tuesday, 6 January 2026, where he was formally refused bail. He will appear again on 13 February 2026.

At about 7 am on Tuesday, 6 January 2026, police located the second stolen vehicle, a Mercedes sedan, driving through Doonside. The vehicle was stopped and a 15-year-old boy was arrested.

He was taken to Blacktown Police Station and charged with:

• be carried in a conveyance taken without the consent of the owner,
• and goods in personal custody are suspected of being stolen.

He appeared before the children’s court on Tuesday, 6 January 2026, where he was formally refused bail. He will appear again on 10 February 2026.

Following further inquiries, on Thursday, 29 January 2026, police executed a search warrant at a home on Cruickshank Crescent, Riverstone, and seized $10,900 in cash and mobile devices.

A 22-year-old man was arrested and taken to Riverstone Police Station, where he was charged with:

• Knowingly direct the activities of a criminal group
• Recruit a child to carry out/assist in criminal activity
• Steal motor vehicle (two counts)
• Receive motor vehicle part theft equal to a serious indictable offence
• Fail to comply with the digital evidence access order direction
• Possess a dedicated encrypted criminal communication device to commit serious criminal activity

Police will allege in court that the man recruited youths to steal motor vehicles in exchange for money.

Lock it or Lose It – the 9.00 PM Routine

North Shore Police Area Command are stressing the 9 PM routine where you check that your car and your house are locked.

Make sure you report any incidents to the police, no matter how minor.

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