Gold Coast suburbs dominate list of Queensland’s car crime hot spots

A Gold Coast suburb has topped the list for the state’s biggest car crime hot spots — while another three have made the top six.

THE Gold Coast has topped the list of the state’s biggest car crime hot spots, with summer declared the most common time of year for thefts.

Insurance data from Suncorp reveals Gold Coasters are the state’s most likely to have their vehicles stolen or broken into, with four of Queensland’s top six suburbs for car theft based here.

Gold Coasters are being warned to stay vigilant against car thieves.

Southport has topped the list for both Suncorp and RACQ claims for the past three years, with police receiving 388 reports of car theft in Southport in the past 12 months alone, although not all have been substantiated.

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Surfers Paradise earned third spot on the Suncorp list, with 150 reports to police, while Nerang and Labrador rounded out fifth and sixth places with 98 and 79 reports respectively.

A Bulletin data crunch this month of information from the Queensland Police interactive crime map revealed more than five people a day were being charged with car theft on the Gold Coast.

The Gold Coast suburb of Southport has topped the latest list for the biggest number of car theft and break in insurance claims in Queensland.

Suncorp spokeswoman Ashleigh Paterson said car-related crime increased by as much as 20 per cent in December and January.

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“Concerningly, most cars — 60 per cent — are stolen from or broken into at the owner’s home as a result of being left unlocked because the vehicle is parked on their property,” she said.

“When leaving your car unattended on the Gold Coast, park in high foot traffic areas to deter opportunistic thieves and when parking anywhere unsecured overnight, park in a well-lit area.”

RACQ spokeswoman Clare Hunter said Holden Commodores were their most commonly stolen car models, followed by Toyota LandCruiser and Hilux models.

Acting Senior Sergeant Steve Thomas from the Southport police station said a three month operation was currently underway to put the brakes on theft in the area.

“There’s a fair bit of unlawful entry of motor vehicles (break ins) but a lot of that we find is people are not securing their vehicles so they’re an easy target,” he said.

“People still leave their wallets and handbags in there all the time which astounds me, so that’s an ongoing problem.”

Acting Senior Sergeant Thomas said the theft of number plates is also an issue on the Gold Coast and encouraged car owners to collect free one-way screws from local police stations to protect their number plates.

THE TOP 10 SUBURBS

1. Southport

2. Caboolture

3. Surfers Paradise

4. Kirwan

5. Nerang

6. Labrador

7. Woodridge

8. Redbank Plains

9. Morayfield

10. Inala