Motor vehicle theft statistics

• Motor vehicle theft is the taking of a motor vehicle unlawfully or without permission. It excludes damaging and tampering or interfering with motor vehicles. The theft of motor vehicle parts or contents is included under the offence category of other theft. Motor vehicle refers to cars, motorcycles, campervans, trucks, buses and plant/equipment.
• There were 75,115 motor vehicles reported stolen to police in 2006, with 523 vehicles stolen per 100,000 registered vehicles. This represents a 7% decrease on the number of thefts recorded in 2005. On average, there was one MVT every seven minutes in Australia in 2006.

Trend in motor vehicle theft

• In February 2006, motor vehicle theft decreased to the lowest monthly level recorded since 1995 with 5,890 motor vehicles reported stolen.
• The incidence of recorded monthly motor vehicle theft peaked in March 2001, with 12,651 cars recorded stolen in that month.
• Between March 2001 and December 2006 motor vehicle theft registered a 51% decrease. The overall decrease in the period 1995-2006 was 41%.
• Friday and Saturday evenings are the most popular periods for theft.
• In the period 1995-2006, the average recorded number of vehicles stolen per month was 9,621.

Location of motor vehicle theft

• The majority of motor vehicle thefts occurred on the street/footpath (37%) or in some sort of residential location (34%).
• Only 8% of motor vehicle thefts occurred in what are classified as transport locations, such as car parks.

Recovery of stolen motor vehicles

Data from the National CARS (Comprehensive Auto Theft Research System) project shows:

• In 2005-06 the national recovery rate for stolen vehicles was 75%, with 56,043 stolen vehicles recovered in that period.
• 47% of stolen vehicles were recovered within 25 hours of theft, and 87% of recoveries occurred within a fortnight.

• The percentage of stolen vehicles that have been recovered decreased from 80% in 2000-01 to 75% in 2005-06.
• Vehicles manufactured in the 1980s recorded a theft rate of 12.6 thefts per 1,000 registrations compared with 4.3 thefts for 1990s models and 2.4 for 2000-05 models. Newer models are less likely to be stolen because engine immobilising technology makes their theft more difficult.
• In 2005-06, models manufactured from 2000 onwards recorded a recovery rate of 64% compared with 82% for 1980s models and 73% for 1990s models. Newer models have a lower recovery rate because they are more likely to be stolen for rebirthing and spare parts than older cars.

• As in previous years, motorcycles were more likely to be stolen than any other type of vehicle, with a theft rate of 14 per 1,000 registrations.
• Panel/vans were the next most commonly stolen vehicle, at 7 per 1,000 registrations.
• Motorcycles were least likely to be recovered, with only 33% of stolen motorcycles being recovered. Other vehicle types had a much higher recovery rate such as 82% for station wagons, 80% for buses and 79% for sedans.

Key data sources

• Comprehensive auto-theft research system (CARS) database
  National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council
• Car Safe : National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council website
• Recorded crime - victims, Australia
  Australian Bureau of Statistics. Annual publication of national crime statistics relating to victims of a selected range of offences that have been recorded by police.