New police unit vows to track Ballarat hoons down

Ballarat Police have launched a dedicated High Risk Driving Team aimed squarely at cracking down on hoon behaviour across the region.

The specialised unit will target dangerous driving, investigate hoon reports and closely monitor repeat offenders in response to community concerns.

The initiative follows feedback raised by residents during recent police community forums and surveys, where hoon behaviour was identified as a major issue affecting neighbourhood safety.

From this week, officers will saturate known hot spot areas while proactively monitoring recidivist hoons across Ballarat.

The team will also investigate incidents where police were unable to immediately arrest offenders due to safety concerns at the time.

Those with a history of hooning offences will be placed firmly on police radar.

Officers will conduct regular door knocks and patrol areas offenders are known to frequent, ensuring they are complying with licence suspensions and bail conditions.

The new unit will work alongside Ballarat Highway Patrol and Ballarat Uniform members as part of a coordinated enforcement effort.

Ballarat Local Area Commander Acting Inspector Brad Hall said the community had made it clear hoon driving would not be tolerated.

“We know the community is rightly sick of hoon behaviour and so are we.”

“Not only is it noisy, irritating and damaging to our roads but it is outright dangerous behaviour that could lead to fatal consequences.”

Acting Inspector Hall said the new team would focus on identifying and monitoring repeat offenders.

“That’s why we have launched this new team which sole focus is to identify, arrest and monitor hoons.”

“Our message to recidivist hoons is clear – your time is up.”

“If you choose to offend you won’t just be facing serious criminal charges but continued monitoring from our high-risk driving team.”

“Even if you get away with it on the night know it won’t be long until police are knocking on your door.”

Police are urging residents to report hoon activity. Anyone witnessing dangerous driving in progress should call Triple Zero.

Dashcam or CCTV footage of high risk driving can also be reported to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via crimestoppersvic.com.au.