Why 43 per cent of Cairns car thieves will never be charged
An under-resourcing of the Cairns police service has been blamed after alarming new data revealed nearly half of all stolen car cases in Cairns went unsolved last year.
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An under-resourcing of the Cairns police service has been blamed after alarming new data revealed nearly half of all stolen car cases in Cairns went unsolved last year.
Police figures have shown the Far North in 2023 had a vehicle theft clear-up rate of 56 per cent, which meant charges weren’t brought against 43 per cent of all people who stole cars.
That figure is down from 2014/15, when the clearance rate in the Far North was 60%.
It’s understood the clearing rate statistic also includes missing cars through civil disputes and late rental car returns and is not specifically related to the offence of unauthorised use of a motor vehicle.
Opposition police spokesman Dan Purdie said our police officers are overstretched and under-resourced after nine years of a Labor Government.
“This isn’t the fault of our dedicated frontline police officers who work tirelessly to keep our community safe,” Mr Purdie said.
“Queenslanders are being traumatised in their own homes and offenders are getting away with it because the crisis is so bad.”
In 2022 the Cairns car theft rate reached record highs when 1299 cars were ripped off but last year a significant reduction meant 804 were stolen and to date this year the running tally on Thursday was 64.
Although the 2023 theft rate was an improvement on the 2022 numbers, the 804 cars taken in 2023 easily eclipsed all other stolen car totals since 2016.
In January for the first time a live portal gave statewide access to an active list of stolen cars allowing the public to play a crucial role in helping police to track down car thieves.
However, reaction to the tactic to empower the community in the fight against car crime was lukewarm given the use of social media crime pages to track and warn others of suspected stolen cars.
A Queensland Police Service spokeswoman said community safety remained the highest priority for the Far North District and police remained committed to preventing, disrupting, and investigating crime.
Opposition youth justice spokeswoman Laura Gerber hammered home the LNP call for the removal of detention as a last resort which was echoed this week by mayoral candidate and former Queensland Police Service deputy commissioner Paul Taylor.
“Until detention as a last resort is removed and until police have the resources they need, Cairns will be victim to the untouchables terrorising this city,” Ms Gerber said.
“We have listened to Queenslanders, and they want a State Government that will get tough on crime.”
The Far North has a higher clear up rate for stolen car occurrences than the state average.
The district’s rate was 56 per cent compared with the statewide figure of 46 per cent.
The state-wide figure has improved since 2014/15, when it was 40.44%.
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