Spike in motorbike thefts hurting stores as crime almost doubles

Queensland motorcycle dealerships and riders are reaching snapping point as out of control break-ins send repair and insurance costs spiralling with four stores within a 5km radius ransacked just days apart. VIDEO.

Queensland motorbike dealerships are reaching snapping point as out of control break-ins send repair and insurance costs spiralling.

The Daily Mercury can reveal the number of motorcycles stolen across the Mackay Whitsunday district alone has almost doubled in five years, with four stores within a 5km radius of each other recently reporting almost back-to-back break-ins.

Vicki Burgess revealed their Kawasaki stores had been ransacked no fewer than 20 times since they opened their Mackay business in 2007 and their Townsville shop in 2017.

Each break-in reinforced what is now a pattern of levelling-up security to outsmart and deter criminals who in turn become more brazen.

Ms Burgess has also had to create a filing system to organise a growing library of CCTV footage that has to be seen to be believed.

In one video, a stolen LandCruiser is seen reversing through double glass doors before a man clumsily tries to kickstart a motorbike only to give up and forcibly push it past the smashed entry.

The ‘frustrating’ aftermath of theft

Ms Burgess said while they’d reported each of the 25 stolen motorbikes, it was “frustrating” to push police for updates or be told more evidence was required to issue warrants.

Kawasaki Mackay head mechanic Jack Burgess with dealer principal Luke Burgess. Picture: Heidi Petith

She said one customer had personally seen his stolen motorbike ridden back to an address and reported it to police only to be told there was “no probable cause” for a warrant.

“It’s really disheartening,” Ms Burgess said, adding they were close to walking away as it felt like they worked just to afford their dealer’s insurance which had surged to $6000 a month.

Four stores hit within days of each other

Just days after the latest strike on the Kawasaki Mackay store, thieves pinched two motorbikes from Norside Motorcycles at Mackay Harbour: one that had recently sold and the other in for repair.

Five kilometres away at Mackay Motorcycles, business manager Cathy Jansen said together with the next-door Bullet Bikes, they had four break-ins in less than six weeks.

Ms Jansen said criminals had cut holes through a roof and a back roller door, and on one occasion they wore night vision goggles while a getaway driver circled the premises in an allegedly stolen car.

CCTV footage has captured criminals wearing night goggles as they target Mackay Motorcycles and Bullet Bikes. Picture: Contributed

Mackay Motorcycles director Scott Gralow said the hits had cost them about $80,000 in lost bikes, repair costs, and security upgrades.

Meanwhile their insurance premiums had risen by 25 per cent in 12 months.

His son Clinton Gralow, who manages Bullet Bikes, said thieves even waited for rain to dampen the sound of grinding through multiple sets of padlocks.

Search warrants out of reach

Like Ms Burgess, Mr Gralow said making reports to police was cumbersome and he too had been told search warrants were out of reach after passing on tip-offs, including from the bikes’ owners, regarding where the stolen property was being stashed.

He said they had turned to using Facebook to track down stolen gear as the criminals, who seemed to be “getting younger and younger”, were effectively “getting something for free” while the stores and their customers were penalised.

Bullet Bikes manager Clinton Gralow. Picture: Contributed

And even if the stores do manage to recover bikes, they are often damaged beyond repair, like Bullet Bikes’ recently stolen $12,000 Husqvarna which an 18-year-old had toiled away to save for over two years.

“It is worthless, it’s been ridden with no oil, been painted over with very cheap spray paint … it’s very disappointing,” Mr Gralow said.

Motorcycle thefts nearly double in five years

A Queensland Police Service spokesman said 108 motorcycles were stolen across the Mackay Whitsunday district in 2023, a 71 per cent rise on 2018’s tally of 63 bikes.

He said while police could apply for search warrants, the issuer must be satisfied the facts supported a “reasonable suspicion” the “commission of an offence” was at or likely to be at the place.

He said the Mackay City Patrol Group, which included the Northern Beaches area, was committed to investigating and prosecuting property crime in the region which included the recent motorcycle thefts.

A LandCruiser was the weapon of choice when criminals broke into the Mackay Kawasaki store causing tens of thousands of dollars in damage. Picture: Contributed

“Investigations into these incidents indicate that majority of offences appear to occur at businesses and are opportunistic in nature, with police locating many motorcycles that have been abandoned shortly after the theft,” the QPS spokesman said.

Fuelled by joy rides, opportunity rather than financial gain

“In Mackay, and more broadly throughout Queensland, the majority of stolen vehicles are used for joy-riding, transport or for use in another crime.

“There are no identified links to organised crime, or thefts being committed for financial gain.”

The Kawasaki motorcycle dealerships in Mackay and Townsville have been ransacked no fewer than 20 times. Picture: Contributed

In Queensland, a person caught driving a stolen motorbike can be charged with unlawful use of a motor vehicle.

There were 18,557 unlawful use of motor vehicle offences committed across the state in the 12 months to April 2024, only a slight increase from 18,228 on the 12 months prior, but a 45 per cent increase compared to the 12 months to April 2021 which recorded 12,819 offences.

How many bikes can you steal before going to jail?

The Daily Mercury asked the Department of Justice and Attorney-General just how many times would someone have to be convicted of unlawful use of a motor vehicle to spend actual time in jail.

A spokesman responded that sentencing was a “highly complex matter” requiring judicial officers to “balance a myriad of competing factors” that could, where relevant, aggravate or mitigate a sentence.

“With such a large range of factors determining the outcome, it means that defendants can get different sentences for committing the same type of offence,” the Department of Justice and Attorney-General spokesman said.

“Each case is unique and an appropriate sentence is imposed by the judicial officer using their discretion.”

He added children were sentenced under the Youth Justice Act 1992 with more information available via its 2020 publication, Sentencing spotlight on unlawful use of a motor vehicle.

The QPS spokesman said the police endeavoured to keep victims of stolen vehicles updated throughout each “phase” while encouraging the public to provide “as much as information as possible” via phoning PoliceLink on 131 444, using the 24/7 online suspicious activity form at police.qld.gov.au/reporting, or reporting anonymously to Crime Stoppers by phoning 1800 333 000 or visiting crimestoppersqld.com.au.

Originally published as Spike in motorbike thefts hurting stores as crime almost doubles