‘Upward trend’: Queensland the worst state for motor vehicle thefts

Queensland has been ranked the worst state for motor vehicle thefts, with close to 16,000 crimes reported last year. the jump in thefts labelled ‘concerning’. We reveal where the most thefts are reported and how to avoid it.

A Brisbane woman has ­revealed she felt “violated” after thieves broke into her Wavell Heights home and stole her car in the middle of the night.

A new study revealed that Queensland has been ranked the worst state for motor vehicle thefts, with more than 15,000 crimes reported in 2021.

Budget Direct’s road safety study, which analysed local government and national crime and police data, revealed there were 15,805 motor vehicle thefts reported in Queensland last year.

Kaz Randall said she had only just moved into her new home in July, a couple of weeks before the incident.

“We had only just moved into a new house, an old weatherboard, which needed renovating – I stupidly left my keys on the kitchen bench, near the back door, they picked them up and took the car,” she said.

Kaz Randall’s car was stolen only a few weeks after she moved into a new home.

“It’s awful knowing that someone came into the house while we were asleep, you feel violated. Your home should be where you feel safe.”

Ms Randall said even though her car was impounded 24 hours after it was stolen, it took five weeks “between the insurance company and assessors” for the car to be returned.

The study also revealed Brisbane is Australia’s most dangerous city for motor ­vehicle theft, with 3623 crimes reported, followed by the Gold Coast (2591), Townsville (1118), Cairns (936) and Toowoomba (657).

As the leading city for motor vehicle theft, Brisbane also topped the crime list for thefts from a motor vehicle, with more than 7400 crimes reported, followed by the Gold Coast (4172).

Ms Randall said she was “surprised” to hear Brisbane had topped the list because “it’s a smaller city, compared to Sydney and Melbourne”.

An RACQ spokeswoman revealed that there had been an “upward trend” of car theft claims.

“In the past financial year, RACQ has seen a 20 per cent increase in car theft claims and that upward trend has continued in recent months with theft rates now above pre-Covid levels,” she said.

“It’s really concerning to see car theft increasing and causing issues for thousands of Queenslanders each year.”

But the spokeswoman said there were simple things ­people could do to help protect their property from being stolen, “but the easiest thing to do is treat your keys like cash”.

“Don’t leave your car keys in sight or near the front door where they can easily be stolen by opportunistic thieves. Make sure that they’re always with you or in a secure location,” she said.

“Also, don’t tag your keys with identifiers like your name and especially not your address. When you’re not at home, wherever possible, try to park in a secure carpark.

“If that’s not available, choose somewhere well-lit and well-populated to reduce the temptation for opportunistic thieves.

“Make sure, whenever you leave your vehicle, your windows are up, doors are locked and don’t leave valuables ­visible in the car.”