“Weak ACT legislation makes car theft difficult to prove. Even when prosecutors take car-theft offences to court, the sentences to repeat offenders amount to a weak slap-on-the-wrist,” writes “Whimsy” columnist CLIVE WILLIAMS. 

IN 2021, Canberra had the second-highest vehicle theft rate in Australia per thousand vehicles registered (after the NT). That year in the ACT, 1432 vehicles were stolen.    

A vehicle is stolen in Australia every 12 minutes. Queensland had the most stolen vehicles last year at 15,805. Victoria was next with 15,353. (The figures are based on local government and Australian Bureau of Statistics data for crime and vehicle registrations.)   

Australia’s most stolen vehicles in 2021 were (in order) the Holden Commodore VE, Toyota HiLux, Ford Ranger PX, and Holden Captiva CG.   

A few years ago, we had our Toyota Camry station wagon stolen from our Canberra driveway. Police found it a couple of days later at Narrabundah. It was damaged mechanically, including a broken steering lock, and I had to spend over a thousand dollars to get it back on the road.    

I subsequently found a timed receipt from a pharmacy in Kingston under the front seat from the period when it had been stolen. I gave the receipt to police so they could identify the thief through the pharmacy’s CCTV. They were reluctant to follow it up – and didn’t. I learned later that there were two major reasons for the lack of follow-up.   

Firstly, the perpetrator was believed to be from a local family that was regularly in trouble with police. Police management was reportedly concerned about being accused of racist targeting. 

Secondly, weak ACT legislation made car theft difficult to prove. Even when prosecutors took car-theft offences to court, the sentences awarded to repeat offenders amounted to a weak slap-on-the-wrist.   

The Camry was never the same again and I ended up giving it away.   

Our next vehicle had its number plates stolen, also while in our driveway. I was told by police it wasn’t unusual for thieves to take the number plates to put on another vehicle to be used for ram-raiding or getting free petrol by driving off without paying (I have since secured our number plates with one-way screws from Bunnings).   

In winter, it’s common for Canberrans to leave their vehicle unattended in their driveway with its engine running to de-ice the windows. If someone steals a vehicle when it’s been left vulnerable like that, the owner’s comprehensive insurance will probably be voided – meaning, of course, no insurance payout.     

Many modern vehicles have wing mirrors that fold in automatically when the vehicle is locked. Opportunity thieves, often drug addicts, look out for parked modern vehicles with the wing mirrors still extended because they know they’ve been left unlocked and they can readily access the contents. This is handy for thieves in car parks where trying lots of vehicle doors might attract attention. The most attractive contents for thieves are laptops, purses, and GPS units.   

Sometimes, externally accessible parts of vehicles are stolen. Car wrecking yards will pay up to $1400 for a catalytic converter, while some exhaust systems contain precious metals.  

Vehicles with a keyless entry option unlock automatically when the vehicle’s key fob comes within a short distance of the vehicle. In typical keyless entry designs, the car transmits a low-frequency (eg, 135 kHz) radio signal to wake up any wireless keys within range. When a key fob receives this signal, it replies with a unique VHF (eg, 315 MHz) signal, and the parent car unlocks. It’s relatively easy for professional thieves to replicate the vehicle’s low frequency transmission and record a key fob’s response, even when it’s inside a house if kept near the front door.    

Non-keyless entry vehicles are more difficult to steal unless the thief physically has the key. At home, many people leave the vehicle key conveniently near their front door, making it a tempting break-in target  (in 2020-21, 55 per cent of all Australian vehicle thefts occurred from victims’ homes).   

All vehicle keys should be kept out of sight and away from the front door, preferably in a key safe. Keyless entry fobs should always be in a signal-blocking pouch or container, such as a metal tin.    

And remember to reprogram your key if you buy a secondhand vehicle!   

What happens to all these stolen vehicles?    

Most are stolen for joyriding and often end up being torched to destroy evidence.    

Some get broken up for resale of parts. Vehicles are typically worth six to eight times more in parts than a whole vehicle.  

Some vehicles are stolen for re-birthing, while exotic vehicles may be stolen to order for re-birthing.   

On the plus side, of the 39,900 vehicles stolen in 2021, 72 per cent were recovered, with police in Victoria and SA being the most likely to locate missing vehicles.   

On a lighter note. A police officer stops a vehicle and says to the driver: “It’s road safety week and I’ve been asked to award a $1000 gift voucher to all careful drivers. What will you do with the money?” 

“Probably pay for a driver’s licence” says the bogan driver. “Don’t listen to him, officer” says his partner, “He’s been drinking”. 

Then the son in the back seat says: “I told you we’d be in trouble if we took a car with keys in it”. And a voice from the boot says: “Are we there yet?” 

Clive Williams is a Canberra columnist