Theft Watch - 12 months to March 2018

Overview

Nationally vehicle theft in the twelve months to March 2018 was 8% lower than the previous twelve months with a total of 52,417 vehicles stolen (i.e. 4,783 fewer thefts.)

Victoria continued its improvement with a 23% reduction over the period. This equates to 4,731 fewer thefts and a reduction in the daily average from 53 thefts per day to 41.

Western Australia improved with an 8% decline and was closely followed by South Australia with a 7% reduction. New South Wales remained steady increasing by only 1% while Queensland was the only large jurisdiction to record a significant increase of 6%.

Of the smaller jurisdictions, Northern Territory declined by 264 thefts and Tasmania by 135 thefts. The Australian Capital Territory experienced an extra 147 thefts.

Heavy/Other vehicles experienced significant reductions in both short term and profit motivated thefts compared to the previous 12 months with 10% and 14% declines respectively.

For a more detailed analysis of current theft trends be sure to check out our interactive dashboard.

Key Findings

• Total PLC theft decreased by 9 % (down 4,357) for the year with a total of 42,101 cars stolen.
• Short term PLC thefts fell by 3,840 (-10%) with profit motivated theft down by 517 (-5%).
• Of the larger jurisdictions, WA recorded the largest increase in non-recovered PLC’s with an additional 123 (12%) thefts. VIC experienced a decline of 408 (-12%) in non-recoveries.
• The national PLC recovery rate has remained relatively stable over the rolling 12 months at 79%.
• Motorcycle theft remained stable decreasing by 75 (-1%) to a total of 8,165 for the year and had an adjusted recovery rate of 47%.
• Heavy and other vehicles reduced by 14% to a total of 2,151 thefts during the period.
• Large reductions in other vehicle thefts were recorded in WA (down -40% to 361 thefts) and VIC (down -29% to 552 thefts). In contrast NSW recorded 511 other vehicle thefts, a 13% increase compared to the previous 12 months.
• The adjusted recovery rate for other vehicles was 52%.