Nsw Car Theft Rate Goes Down
Illawarra Mercury
Wednesday March 12, 2003
CAR theft in NSW has dropped but the state remains the country's capital for stolen motor vehicles, new figures reveal.
Research by the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council found of the 109,000 cars stolen in Australia last year, more than 40,000 were stolen in NSW.
However, despite the number of thefts, the rate in NSW had dropped by nearly 23 per cent, a finding that is supported by latest figures from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics.
The council's executive director Ray Carroll said the decrease reflected a national trend and was due to a combination of factors which made it harder for thieves.
``In absolute numbers NSW has the most vehicles but it has also got the largest population and number of cars," Mr Carroll said.
He said the ACT - which reported 600 thefts - topped the list of stolen cars in relative terms based on the number of car registrations.
``For every 10,000 cars registered and driving around in the ACT, 126 of them would be stolen in a year," he said.
``They have got a relatively much smaller population than NSW and you don't need many car crooks to get a high figure."
Mr Carroll attributed the fall to tougher policing, enhanced car security technology and registration processes.
Recovery rates of stolen cars also slid two per cent.
``The vehicle recovery rate dropped around two per cent during the same period, suggesting that opportunistic theft has been reduced at a greater rate than professional theft," he said.
Car thefts in Australia in 2002
NSW 40,260 (-23%)
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VIC 27,380 (-28%)
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QLD 15,030 (-10%)
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SA 10,580 (-12%)
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WA 10,550 (-7%)
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ACT 2390 (-2%)
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TAS 2360 (-29%)
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NT 960 (-13%)
© 2003 Illawarra Mercury