Unexpected Australian crime committed every 11 minutes

Thousands of Australians every year are left high and dry by this crime committed every 11 minutes.

Devilish criminals have been clocked committing an unlikely crime every 11 minutes in Australia.

More than six times an hour, a car is stolen.

It’s a crime committed almost 40,000 times nationally every year and comes at an enormous cost to road users.

The worst offenders were in Queensland, where more than 11,000 passenger vehicles were stolen in 2021 alone.

Meanwhile, the Northern Territory had the highest rate of car thefts, averaging 4.15 thefts per 1000 registrations.

A stolen luxury Mercedes dumped in a shopping centre car park. Picture: Supplied

In terms of total car thefts, the NT, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory were the lowest due to their smaller populations.

Financial comparison website Savvy also revealed the Holden Commodore, model VE MY06_13, was the most attractive vehicle for thieves for three consecutive years.

Drivers were told they should make it more difficult for crims to take their cars by avoiding putting any personal details like their address on keys, in case they got lost.

Locking doors, parking in well-lit areas and keeping the car keys in an unexpected or out of reach place in the home would also help prevent car thefts.

Savvy pointed out a significant dip in car thefts during the Covid pandemic as a result of restrictions making it more difficult for vehicles to be targeted.

Advanced security systems and immobilisers had also made it harder for thieves to steal cars, along with features like GPS tracking and remote locking systems.

A stolen car seized by NSW Police. Picture: Supplied

Factors like population density, socio-economic conditions and law enforcement efforts were all likely to influence the likelihood of car theft, according to the site.

In Budget Direct’s 2021 Car Theft Survey of 878 Australians, 18.2 per cent were found to have had their belongings stolen from their car, while just 7.4 per cent had their car stolen.

Respondents aged 18-24 were found to have had the least experience with car theft and men were more likely than women to have their belongings stolen.

The myth that thieves could hot-wire a car to steal it was also dispelled, given security devices in modern vehicles made the act practically impossible.