Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond said about 20 vehicles were either broken into, stolen or attempted to be stolen in the South Dunedin, North Dunedin, Opoho, and Fairfield areas.
He said two of the stolen vehicles were spotted by police on patrol, but the drivers fled and were pursued by police.
One pursuit happened at 1am on Sunday in Opoho Rd, when the driver was seen travelling about 70kmh in a 50kmh speed zone.
Another was pursued by police about 11.45pm on Saturday, after it was seen leaving the Brighton Pistol Club.
‘‘Both vehicles were stolen. Both pursuits had to be abandoned.’’
Only one of the cars had been found — in Outram.
Snr Sgt Bond believed youths were responsible for the offenses and police were making inquiries to locate suspects.
He said the type of vehicles being stolen were popular around the city and he urged owners to take precautions.
‘‘Don’t leave valuables in your vehicle which makes it attractive to possible thieves.
‘‘A few of the vehicles were Mazda Demios or Toyota Aquas, so again, I would ask owners of these car models to invest in a steering wheel lock which will make them harder to steal.’’
