No. 67 Exploring Motor Vehicle Theft in Australia

Motor vehicle theft costs the Australian community approximately A$1 billion per year. On average, each of the 126 871 vehicles stolen in 1995-96 incurred a direct cost in the order of A$5000 (conservative industry and police estimate) but when we add indirect costs, such as those incurred by police and courts, inconvenience to the victim, loss of earnings (on average at least one working day is lost when a vehicle is stolen), and subsequent higher insurance premiums, then the cost easily approaches the A$1 billion mark. While some vehicles are stolen by organised gangs, for whom stealing is a business, most vehicles are stolen by young joyriders. Solutions include making cars more difficult to steal, and making the activity of stealing less attractive to the perpetrator. This Trends and Issues paper deals mainly with the former, and identifies some potentially useful countermeasures