Could Canberra's "Grim Reaper of rubber" be at it again? Or has a new tyre slasher started operating in Canberra's south?
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Information provided to the ACT Legislative Assembly this week shows four incidents of criminal car tyre damage in Narrabundah and Griffith have been reported to police since June.
Opposition member Giulia Jones asked Police Minister Simon Corbell for information about tyre slashings after her long running calls for action on tyre slashing vandalism, which has stung car owners in Canberra's south for more than two decades.
Mr Corbell said since a 68-year-old man was taken into custody in June for allegedly damaging a tyre on a car in Narrabundah, there have been four other reports made to police from Griffith and Narrabundah.
Police seized evidence from the man's home before taking him to Woden Police Station. He was later released but will be summonsed to face the ACT Magistrates Court at a later date.
An ACT Policing spokeswoman said on Tuesday there are no indications that the latest reports are related to the man taken into custody. Citing an ongoing investigation, police would not comment further.
At the time of the arrest, ACT Policing said the alleged offence may be linked to similar cases of property damage. The arrest was the result of an ongoing police operation that began in April 2013.
Police said it was not known if the man they arrested was the infamous slasher, who has also been dubbed the "blowout bandit".
Mrs Jones has campaigned on the tyre slashings, which have previously occurred between Thursday and Sunday, since her sister, Lucia MacFarlane of Narrabundah, was targeted two or three times in 2013.
Local residents have reported slashing incidents have been known to stop completely for a few months, only to begin again in the streets of south Canberra without warning.
Mrs Jones has previously called for electronic surveillance cameras to be installed to monitor vehicles in local streets and presented a petition of 270 signatures to the Assembly calling for more resources to be allocated and for an increased police presence in the area.
"This just goes to show that we are not done yet and there is a lot of work to do with regards to the Narrabundah tyre slasher," Mrs Jones said.
"I urge the Minister to put enough resources into policing this ongoing issue. Decades of this crime have started to be resolved only after the Minister was pressured to put resources into ACT policing to focus on this problem.
"The Minister is not finished yet and must stop these crimes continuing. Every attack means hundreds or even thousands of dollars that the victim has to pay so they can drive to work or pick up the kids from school. It's unacceptable that this is continuing."
Mr Corbell said police were searching for a person suspected of committing property damage to cars in the Narrabundah area.
"Adequate resources are being committed to this investigation," he said. "Given the ongoing nature of the investigation it is not appropriate to comment further."
