Police resourcing, intervention to combat shocking car theft in Queensland
Queensland centres including Townsville have some of the most shocking car thefts in Australia. See the worst 12 across the country.
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As Queensland centres including Townsville top statistics for the most car thefts in Australia, Police Minister Mark Ryan says the government will continue to boost police resources and intervention programs.
Insurer BudgetDirect has released analysis of motor vehicle thefts showing Queensland recorded the most motor vehicle thefts of any state in 2021 with 15,805, ahead of Victoria (15,353) and NSW (10,473).
Five Queensland cities had the most vehicle thefts led by Brisbane (3623), Gold Coast (2591), Townsville (1118), Cairns (936) and Toowoomba (657) although BudgetDirect noted that Brisbane’s Local Government Area covered a much bigger area than other cities such as Sydney, while city level data was only available in Queensland, NSW and South Australia.
On vehicle thefts per 1000 vehicles registered, Cairns topped the Queensland statistics at 4.4 followed by Brisbane (4.1), Townsville (3.1) and Gold Coast (2.6).
Nationally, the Northern Territory had the highest rate of theft at 10.1 per 1000 vehicles, followed by ACT (4.5), Queensland (3.7), Victoria (3), Western Australia (2.7), South Australia (2.3) and Tasmania (2.1).
Speaking in Townsville on Friday, Police Minister Mark Ryan said the government “wants action” to break the cycle
“I don’t think anyone thinks that it’s acceptable that cars are stolen. Obviously, the community wants action, the government wants action, and that’s why the government is acting around additional police resources, additional intervention programs for those involved in criminal offending, to break the cycle of offending but also stronger bail laws,” Mr Ryan said.
The government changed bail laws last year to make it tougher for repeat juvenile offenders to be granted bail, while youth justice centres, including two in Townsville, run programs aimed at preventing reoffending.
Mr Ryan said the contributing factors for people stealing cars were complex.
“It’s not an excuse but it’s an explanation. But the government will never give up on this reform work. We’ll certainly keep working with all stakeholders to do what we can to get people out of the criminal justice system so they stop stealing cars and stop impacting people’s lives,” Mr Ryan said.
Last month Traeger MP Robbie Katter called on the state’s Police and Youth Justice ministers to visit and stay a few days in Mount Isa where a group of up to 20 juvenile offenders were stealing an average of two cars per week.
Katter’s Australian Party wants a trial of “Relocation Sentencing” where offenders are relocated to a remote facility.
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Originally published as Police resourcing, intervention to combat shocking car theft in Queensland
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