MEDIA RELEASE
June 6, 2007	Embargoed 11.30am (AEST)	62/2007
Motor vehicle theft continues to fall in 2006: ABS

Motor vehicle theft continued to fall in 2006 and was at its lowest level since national reporting began in 1993, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

In 2006 there were 75,000 victims of motor vehicle theft, down 7% compared to 2005, and 33% compared to 1993. The 2006 victimisation rate was 365 victims per 100,000 people. Over a third (37%) of vehicles were stolen from a street or footpath.

However, blackmail, extortion and murder increased compared to 2005. Blackmail and extortion went up 10%, to 2.1 victims per 100,000 people, and murder went up by 8%, to 1.4 victims per 100,000 people.

Other findings for 2006 include:

• Nearly half (45%) of robbery victims were aged 15-24.

• Over two thirds (68%) of victims of kidnapping/abduction were under 25 years.

• Females aged 15-19 recorded the highest rate of kidnapping/abduction, at 16 victims per 100,000 people.

• Males were twice as likely to be victims of murder, and nearly three times more likely to be victims of robbery than females.

• A knife was the most common weapon, used in more than a third of murders (34%) and attempted murders (35%) and in 22% of robberies.

• Over half (61%) of the murders occurred in a residential dwelling, and nearly half (45%) of the robberies occurred on a street or footpath.

More details are available in Recorded Crime - Victims, Australia, 2006 (cat. no. 4510.0).