Massive spike in Victorian car thefts: sentencing report
CAR thefts have skyrocketed in the past five years, with 3500 vehicles stolen in the past financial year alone, a new sentencing report says.
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CAR thefts have skyrocketed in the past five years, according to a new sentencing report.
The number of Magistrates’ Court sentences for the crime increased by 170 per cent over that period.
The court saw 3500 car theft cases in 2016/17, according to a Sentencing Advisory Council report that examined sentencing practices in the Magistrates’ Court for thefts in the five years to last June 30.
Car theft had the highest imprisonment rate of theft offences: 36 per cent of offenders received a prison sentence.
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Of thieves who stole from shops, 36 per cent were fined and 29 per cent were put on an adjourned undertaking.
From July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2016, more than half (52.6 per cent) of car thieves spent an average of three to 12 months behind bars.
Magistrates sentenced people for a total of 114,170 theft charges.
Half of these charges related to general thefts; thefts from shops made up 36 per cent of all theft charges.
Council chairman Professor Arie Freiberg said it was not surprising that magistrates rarely imposed jail sentences for thefts, as the most serious charges were heard in the County Court.
SUDANESE YOUTH CRIME SURGES IN VICTORIA
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In cases where theft was the most serious charge laid, 66 per cent involved males.
The average age of those stealing motor vehicles was 28; those stealing from shops were the oldest offenders.
Mr Freiberg said: “The steady increase in the number of charges of theft being dealt with by the Magistrates’ Court over the past five years has contributed to an already heavy workload.”