Auto Theft Down, Immobilisers Up: National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council

The National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council (NMVTRC) has released its 2009/10 report on the state of motor vehicle theft across Australia and, for the most part, the numbers are good.

'Short term' theft of passenger and light commercial vehicles (PLC) has fallen 11 percent in the past 12 months, with 35,257 vehicles stolen and recovered (up to June 2010).

According to the report, over two-thirds of all PLCs stolen and recovered were aged 11 years or older - despite these vehicles making up just 36 percent of the PLCs registered across Australia.

Compared to five years ago, the rate of passenger and light commercial vehicle theft per 1000 registrations has fallen from 4.5 percent to 2.4 percent.

Western Australia and South Australia saw the most significant reductions, down 30 and 23 percent respectively, while Tasmania stood out as the only region to see an increase in 'short term' PLC theft, rising by 204 thefts.

"The overwhelming majority of PLC theft in Tasmania is for short term use and the volume of this type of theft tends to fluctuate quarter to quarter due to the small base line population," the NMVTRC report reads.

Spurred by police-supported handouts, the proportion of immobilisers fitted in PLCs rose four percent to 67 percent.

Profit-motivated thefts saw a slight improvement also, with the number of PLCs stolen and not recovered (SNR) dropping by 165 to 11,514. Vehicles stolen for profit-motivated purposes make up 0.8 percent of every 1000 PLC registrations.

Older cars again make up the majority here, with 84 percent of SNR vehicles manufactured before 1999.

Western Australia showed the best result with a 28 percent reduction in profit-motivated thefts. Adjusted for late recoveries, the only regions to see a rise in profit-motivated thefts were Victoria, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory.

The full report can be found at www.carsafe.com.au.