Car Theft Down As Police Hit
Illawarra Mercury
Friday January 29, 1999
The rate of vehicle theft has dropped for the first time in five years in NSW and the NRMA attributes the fall partly to increased police action against professional car thieves.
Figures for the first six months of this financial year showed a 10 per cent drop in the rate of car theft compared with the same period last year, NRMA motoring general manager Doug Pearce said.
``The figures show we're turning the corner on this serious community problem," Mr Pearce said.
The VN Commodore was the most frequently stolen model of car, and the Hyundai Excel was the most frequently stolen current model, NRMA figures showed.
Despite the drop in car thefts, car insurance premiums were unlikely to fall for at least six months, Mr Pearce said.
``Car theft is still a major problem so there won't be an immediate reduction in premiums," he said.
``However, with a fall in theft numbers at least there's not the continual pressure to increase costs."
The average cost of a car theft had fallen by 3.5 per cent in the six months from July to December, he said.
``The cost of car theft to the NRMA is more than $130million a year, but with the frequency and average cost of theft falling, we hope this year's final cost will come down," he said.
NSW Police Commissioner Peter Ryan said his officers had been targeting repeat offenders, car theft hot spots and professional thieves whose aim was to rebirth stolen cars.
Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show car theft remains a bigger problem in NSW than in the rest of Australia.
According to police figures, about 46,000 cars are stolen in NSW each year.
© 1999 Illawarra Mercury
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