Revealed: Car thefts reach new high on Gold Coast

Police figures show car thefts are at their highest level in almost 20 years on the Gold Coast, amid an increase in violence and reports of teenage gangs prowling suburbs looking for victims. See the statistics.

The number of cars stolen on the Gold Coast has reached its highest number in almost 20 years amid reports juvenile gangs are scouring suburbs for unlocked cars and concerns expressed by police about an increase in violence.

Analysis of Queensland Police figures show that in the 2022/23 financial year 2575 Unlawful Use of a Motor Vehicle offences were recorded.

The numbers have been rising steadily and are now 70 per cent up on a low of 1512 recorded in 2014/15.

By far the most thefts have taken places in the Southport and Broadbeach police districts.

However vehicle theft is also a growing problem in the city’s north, with 252 offences recorded in the Coomera district in the last financial year.

Unlawful use of motor vehicle offences, Gold Coast. Source: QPS

In recent weeks there have been a number of reports involving juvenile gangs cruising streets in stolen vehicles, seemingly watching for the opportunity to engage in opportunistic theft.

They have included:

* A car stolen two weeks ago from an address in Runaway Bay while its owner had it parked in the driveway for cleaning. The thieves pounced as the owner returned a hose to their garage.

* A limousine that was stolen in Surfers Paradise after the driver, who had just brought a couple home from Brisbane Airport, stepped out of the vehicle to help them unload their bags from the rear of the car.

* Multiple instances where thieves have been spotted on CCTV running from one car to the next in suburban streets in the middle of the night checking for vehicles their owners have forgotten to lock properly.

A screenshot from a video posted on social media by teenagers who allegedly stole a car and were involved in robberies across southeast Queensland and the Gold Coast. Picture: 9 News

A screenshot from a social media video involving one of a group of teenagers who allegedly stole a car and were involved in robberies across southeast Queensland and the Gold Coast. Picture: 9 News

Police have also expressed concerns about the increased violence being used by offenders after guns were found in an Audi allegedly used by a group of teenagers to commit a crime spree across Brisbane and the Gold Coast at the weekend after being stolen in Helensvale.

“Certainly the violence has increased, the harder it is to get vehicles,”

Acting Superintendent Peter Miles said.

“No longer can you go and hot-wire an Audi and get away with it. You need to do a break and enter to get those keys. And to do a break and enter you need to be prepared that the owner may find you and that’s why we’re seeing this escalation of violence.

“It is concerning.

“It’s a sign of the times unfortunately. As things become harder to steal, so do the tactics change on how to steal them.”

A CCTV image of a luxury car being stolen from a Palm Beach home in April.

With those tactics also including opportunistic thefts, Acting Supt Miles urged people to be extra careful to ensure they locked their cars and houses – although he stressed police had not noticed a spike in such crimes.

“Be mindful that there are people out there of a night-time looking for opportunities. My message to the community would be look after your belongings. Lock your car, lock your house, don’t give anyone any opportunities to make it easier for them,” he said.

“We should be able to leave our cars unlocked, we should be able to leave our houses unlocked, but unfortunately we can’t. I’d just urge the community to ensure that they do secure their property.”

Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll. Picture: Steve Pohlner.

RACQ Chief Executive Insurance Trent Sayers said car theft claims among its customers on the Gold Coast had dipped last financial year, although the city still had the highest number of claims by volume among Queensland regions with 182, while claims in the Logan/ Beaudesert region were up 36 per cent.

Mr Sayers encouraged vehicle owners to stay alert and take precautions to protect their vehicles.

“Queenslanders must keep security in mind when parking their cars, particularly overnight,” he said.

“When possible, park your car in a locked garage or gated driveway and lock your car, even when it’s in a secure location.

“If a secure location isn’t an option, park in a well-lit populated area and remove any valuables from your vehicle to ensure thieves aren’t tempted.”

RACQ Group Executive Insurance Trent Sayers

Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said police figures showing higher levels of arrests for car thefts were due to both a growing number of crimes and increased police action to combat them.

“The challenge here is you just can’t arrest your way out of this,” Commissioner Carroll said.

“The arrest figures in the last six months are something I have not seen before.”

Commissioner Carroll said high-powered vehicles in the hands of teen offenders could themselves be “weapons”, and that social media trends were helping to fuel offending.

“They break in, steal a car, get on digital platforms and show off. This is driving this behaviour,” she said. “That is why we have a digital interdiction team, to take down that as quickly as possible, to use it as evidence.”

Commissioner Carroll said police were conducting additional high visibility patrols via Operation Victor Unison, with officers working overtime to combat the youth crime wave.

“This is in addition to business as usual,” she said. “We purposely asked government for overtime hours to make sure we can have a lot more police on the streets, in the right areas.”

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Originally published as Revealed: Car thefts reach new high on Gold Coast