NCJ Number
59617
Date Published
1977
Length
15 pages
Annotation
AUSTRALIAN OFFICIAL STATISTICS ON CAR THEFT ARE REPORTED AND ANALYZED TO INDICATE AREAS BELIEVED TO BE FRUITFUL FOR FURTHER STUDY.
Abstract
DATA ON MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT IN AUSTRALIA ARE TAKEN FROM THE 'AUSTRALIAN YEAR BOOK' FOR THE YEARS 1964 THROUGH 1973. IN THIS PUBLICATION, THE OFFENCE CATEGORY OF MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT INCLUDES 'ALL OFFENCES OF ILLEGAL, UNLAWFUL, OR UNAUTHORIZED USE, USE WITHOUT CONSENT, UNLAWFULLY ASSUMING CONTROL, ETC., NO MATTER UNDER WHICH LEGISLATION THESE OFFENCES ARE DESCRIBED'. THE TREND TOWARD DECREASING MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT SINCE 1971, ESPECIALLY IN NEW SOUTH WALES AND VICTORIA, NEEDS TO BE EXAMINED MORE CLOSELY, TO ISOLATE SIGNIFICANT DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES. STRIKING DIFFERENCES IN THE MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT RATE IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE COUNTRY SUGGEST THAT A STUDY OF RELEVANT LAW MAY BE PROFITABLE. ALSO, THE GREAT DIFFERENCE IN CAR THEFT RATES BETWEEN QUEENSLAND AND VICTORIA, WITH NEARLY IDENTICAL CAR-OWNERSHIP RATES, CLEARLY CALLS FOR CLOSER SCRUTINY, ALONG WITH STUDIES MEASURING THE EXTENT TO WHICH CARS ARE LEFT UNLOCKED IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF AUSTRALIA. FURTHERMORE, PUBLIC ATTITUDES TOWARD THE VALUE OF MOTOR VEHICLES AND THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE THEFT PROBLEM COULD YEILD SIGNIFICANT RESULTS, AS WELL AS A DETERMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INTENSITY OF POLICING AND MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT RATES. BY CONDUCTING, THE STUDIES SUGGESTED HERE, POLICE ADMINISTRATORS COULD EXPERIMENT WITH DIFFERENT PATTERNS OF POLICE PATROL AND EVALUATE THEIR EFFECTIVENESS IN PREVENTING CAR THEFT. FOR AREAS WITH HIGH MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT RATES, PUBLICITY CAMPAIGNS AND MORE EFFECTIVE POLICING SHOULD BE EXPLORED. TABULAR AND GRAPHIC DATA ARE PROVIDED, ALONG WITH FOOTNOTES. (RCB)