Queensland has been dubbed the nation’s car theft capital following an increase in property crime

A police crime map has revealed Queensland’s hot spots for car thefts over the past few years. See the map here.

A SPIKE in property crime has earned Queensland the unenviable title of Australia’s car theft capital for the past five years.

In the past year car thefts across Brisbane have surged by 429 with more than 3000 stolen in the past year, according to Queensland Police Service’s online crime map data.

Fortitude Valley had 77 car thefts in the past year to date, 31 more than the previous year, thefts in New Farm more than doubled with 28 in the last year and 13 the year before.

While car thefts in Bridgeman Downs almost tripled from seven to 19 and Hendra’s number of thefts spiked from 39 to 72.

A number of suburbs have been consistent hot spots for car theft, including; Brisbane CBD with 178 thefts over the past two years, Inala with 166, Ferny Grove with 152, Chermside with 96, Forest Lake with 89 and Nundah with 85.

Associate Professor in Criminology at Bond University, Dr Terry Goldsworthy, said Queensland was by far the worst state in Australia for car thefts.

“The Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council (MVTRC) released the top five local government areas for car theft for 2018-19, and Queensland fills the top four with Brisbane, Gold Coast, Logan and Moreton Bay,” he said.

“We lead the country when it comes to unlawful uses (of motor vehicles), and that goes back to 2014.”

Dr Goldsworthy said there had been a significant increase in profit-driven car theft, with offenders often travelling from other parts of the country to target specific Queensland suburbs.

“It’s lotted up into short-term theft and profit-motivated theft, so someone taking your car for a joy ride and someone taking your car to make a profit out of it.

“Short term theft is up 1 per cent and profit-motivated theft is up 15 per cent in Queensland.

“The Gold Coast has a lot of stolen vehicles and that is often done by groups coming from outside the Gold Coast.”

The Sunshine State has been dubbed the worst place for car theft in Australia. Picture: Queensland Police Service

Holden Commodores, Toyota Hiluxes, Ford Falcons and Nissan Nivara were listed as the most stolen car models, and Dr Goldsworthy warned owners of older cars to be particularly wary.

“With the older models, you may need to purchase additional security, such as steering locks or alarms above and beyond what the manufacturer has,” he said.

“Certain vehicles are sought out by offenders because they’re easier for offenders to steal without the keys.”

A QPS spokesman advised car owners to take precautions like parking off-street and hiding their keys at night to reduce the risk of becoming a victim of theft.