MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT AND THEFT FROM A MOTOR VEHICLE

MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT

Motor vehicle theft is an incident where a motor vehicle was stolen from any member of the household. This includes cars, utilities, motorcycles (including motorised scooters), buses, trucks and motor homes. It includes privately owned vehicles and business/employer/company owned vehicles only if the vehicle was used exclusively by members of the household. Motor vehicle theft excludes boats, trailers and company vehicles not used exclusively by household members. For the purposes of this survey, motor vehicle theft incidents are considered to be household crimes rather than a crime against an individual person.

An estimated 65,600 incidents of motor vehicle theft were experienced in the 12 months prior to interview by 60,900 (0.7%) Australian households in 2011–12. Around nine in ten (91%) victims of motor vehicle theft had the most recent incident they experienced reported to police.

THEFT FROM A MOTOR VEHICLE

Theft from a motor vehicle involved the theft of property owned by any member of the household from a motor vehicle owned (for private use) by any member of that household. It excludes property stolen that belonged to someone not living in the household (for example, a friend or other relative) and property owned by a business or employer (for example, a computer, mobile phone or work tools). It also excludes property stolen from commercial vehicles (this includes a self-employed business operator whose vehicle is mainly used for work purposes) and any break-in to a motor vehicle if nothing was stolen. Incidents of theft from a motor vehicle are also considered to be household crimes.

During the 12 months prior to interview, there were an estimated 379,200 incidents of theft of property from a motor vehicle, experienced by 307,100 (3.5%) Australian households in 2011–12. Around half (51%) of victims of theft of property from a motor vehicle had the most recent incident they experienced reported to the police.

The theft of property from a motor vehicle victimisation rates for Western Australia (5.5%) and Northern Territory (5.9%) were both higher than the national average (3.5%). Households in these states were more likely to be victims of theft from a motor vehicle than households in NSW (3.2%), Victoria (3.8%), Queensland (3.0%), South Australia (3.1%) and Tasmania (1.9%).

The victimisation rates for theft of property from a motor vehicle for Queensland (3.0%) and Tasmania (1.9%) were both lower than the national average (3.5%) and the rate for Tasmania was lower than for all other states and territories.

2011-12 Theft of Property from a Motor Vehicle Victimisation Rate, by State and Territory


The rate at which theft of property from a motor vehicle was reported to police in the Northern Territory (65%) was higher than the national average (51%) and also higher than in Western Australia (50%). The rates of reporting theft of property from a motor vehicle to police in the Northern Territory and South Australia (61%) were higher than those in NSW (45%) and Queensland (47%).

2011-12 Rate of Reporting of Theft of Property from a Motor Vehicle to Police, by State and Territory

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