Gold coast crime news: Worst suburbs for car theft

A Surfers Paradise resident had her car stolen just hours after mourning the loss of an overseas relative who died of Covid. Find out the suburbs most at risk for car theft. MAP >>

COVID lockdowns have led to a slight drop in the number of car thefts across the Gold Coast in 2020-21, a top cop turned criminal expert says.

It comes as new data revealed the Glitter Strip suburbs where cars were most likely to be pinched.

Surfers Paradise topped the list for motor vehicle thefts in 2020-21 with 199, followed by Southport with 164 and Nerang with 105.

Surfers Paradise resident Kaia Lohia had her car stolen from a secure carpark just hours after mourning the loss of an overseas relative who died of Covid.

She went to a family memorial in Brisbane and returned to her apartment building on Peninsular Dr about 3am last Monday.

Ms Lohia said she was so tired from the drive that she accidentally left her keys, including her car fob, in the front door of her apartment.

An unknown person used the car fob to steal the orange 2014 Kia Sportage with registration 999TZM.

“I was crying for burying my cousin, then crying because my car was stolen,” Ms Lohia said.

“It’s just one thing happening after the other.”

To make matters worse, the car had recently run out of insurance and also contained her son’s laptop and phone.

“There are a lot of thefts going around – it’s disgusting. Especially during this time with Covid when everyone is trying to make ends meet,” Ms Lohia said.

A police spokeswoman said the car was stolen between 3am and 1pm on October 18, with investigations continuing.

Data from the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reducation Council found there were 1599 short term motor vehicle thefts in the Gold Coast in 2020-21, compared to 1723 the year before.

Brisbane and Gold Coast local government areas topped the country for this type of crime, followed by Greater ACT and Townsville.

Bond University criminologist Terry Goldsworthy said Covid and lockdowns had caused an overall drop in crime in the Gold Coast, apart from drug and online fraud offences.

“When the lockdowns were occurring, the property crime decreased because people were at home more,” Dr Goldsworthy said.

Perceptions of crime were an important factor when looking at crime trends, the former top cop said.

“Queensland has been the capital of stolen cars for some time now,” he said.

“Other states have had decreasing trends, but ours has been increasing. It’s problematic.”

Data from Budget Direct revealed the Toyata HiLux and the Holden Commodore were the two cars most commonly stolen last year.

Easy to steal keys, sneak thefts and keyrings with address details were the most common ways for cars to be pinched.

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Originally published as Gold coast crime news: Worst suburbs for car theft