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Publications
Publications listed on this page have been split into three sections.
- The first section lists regular statistical monitoring publications by the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council (NMVTRC) that are based on the CARS database.
- CARS conduct independent research and release statistical reports on South Australia as we are based in the South Australian Attorney General's Department. These publications are in sections two and three.
NMVTRC Publications
These publications are available at www.carsafe.com.au![[external link]](images\icon_external_link.gif){kind=small}
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| Publication Image | Publication Title | Description |
|---|---|---|
 | 2006/2007 Annual Statistical Report CD-ROM | CARS release Australia's most comprehensive auto-theft information resource annually. The CD-ROM presents both an overview of national trends and detailed profiles of each state and territory. The reports can be viewed as a whole, or specific statistics can easily be found by using the simple subject navigation menus. Email your details to ncars@ncars.on.net and we will post you a copy. |
 | 2005/2006 Annual Statistical Report CD-ROM | As above. |
 | 2004/2005 Annual Statistical Report CD-ROM | As above. |
 | 2003/2004 Annual Statistical Report CD-ROM | As above. |
 | Theft Watch | The quarterly Theft Watch newsletter monitors current vehicle theft statistics in Australia. |
 | Quarterly Reports | These quarterly reports are approximately ten to fifteen pages and provide various breakdowns of national and state or territory vehicle theft trends. |
 | Quick Stats Reports | One page statistical summaries that answer various frequently asked questions. Quick Stats reports are available for Australia and by state or territory. |
CARS Research
| Publication Title | Description |
|---|---|
Motor Vehicle Theft Sentencing Trends in South Australia, 1990-2005 (Released: January 2008 - Size: 253kb)![[pdf document]](images\icon_pdf.gif){kind=small} | This report examines sentencing trends in South Australia from 1990 to 2005 in relation to adult motor vehicle theft offenders and includes a comparison of the rate of custodial sentences between South Australia, Western Australia and New South Wales. |
| The Motivations of Motor Vehicle Theft Offenders in South Australia (Released: January 2008 - Size: 299kb) | This paper investigates offender motivation for stealing motor vehicles. The paper features two separate sections, a literature review and a series of offender interviews, both of which investigate reasons for offenders first becoming involved in motor vehicle theft, for maintaining their involvement, and ultimately ceasing their offending. |
| A profile of motor vehicle theft-related arson in New South Wales and South Australia (Released: May 2007 - Size: 600kb) | Arson of stolen vehicles is largely associated with insurance fraud and the destruction of forensic evidence, and adds substantially to the overall cost of motor vehicle theft to the community. This report provides a profile of arson incidents involving stolen vehicles in both New South Wales and South Australia. Findings indicate that arson of stolen vehicles increased steadily in South Australia in recent years, but remained more stable in New South Wales. However, arson of stolen vehicles remained a larger problem in New South Wales, with 11.0% of vehicles stolen in the 2005/06 financial year being later recovered burnt, compared with 8.6% in South Australia. A large proportion of stolen vehicle arson incidents in 2005/06 occurred in Sydney's western and south-western suburbs, and in Adelaide's northern suburbs. This report also features data from the New South Wales fire services regarding incendiary and suspicious vehicle fires in New South Wales. Implications for targeting this costly crime are discussed. |
| The effectiveness of immobilisers in preventing vehicle theft in Australia (Released: April 2007 - Size: 86kb) | This brief report updates the 2001 study by CARS on the effectiveness of different types of immobilisers in preventing vehicle theft. Using Australian passenger/light commercial theft data for 2006, the report shows that vehicles with an Australian Standard (AS) Immobiliser have the lowest theft rate, which is a similar finding to the earlier study. |
| New car security and shifting vehicle theft patterns in Australia (Released: January 2007 - Size: 79kb) | This summary document outlines a study investigating the impact that compulsory immobilisation of new passenger vehicles has on the motor vehicle theft profile in Australia. Brown & Thomas (2003) investigated the effect of compulsory immobilisation in the UK and concluded that although immobilisers were effective in reducing vehicle theft rates overall, there was some evidence of displacement toward theft of older, non-immobilised vehicles. This study replicates the method of Brown & Thomas using Australian CARS data, and shows that immobilisers are associated with a strong decline in motor vehicle theft in Australia in recent years. There is also some evidence of displacement toward older vehicles, particularly for unrecovered thefts. Improvements in vehicle security are thought to account for the displacement among newer vehicles. This is consistent with the 'reduced-pool theory' which predicts that as the vehicle fleet becomes increasingly immobilised, theft rates overall will continue to fall. The full article is published in Security Journal 2007; Vol. 20, Number 2, pp 111-122. |
| Light Commercial Vehicles Stolen in Australia, October 2004 to September 2005 (Released: January 2006 - Size: 303kb) | This report presents data regarding thefts of light commercial vehicles throughout Australia for the 12-month period to September 2005. Analyses include thefts by state/territory, make, year of manufacture, estimated vehicle value and immobiliser status. The report shows that approx. $67 million worth of light commercial vehicles were stolen during the 12-month period, of which almost $16 million remained unrecovered. |
| Drug Use and Vehicle Crime - An Analysis of DUMA Data on Offenders Arrested for Motor Vehicle Theft (Released: December 2005 - Size: 302kb) | This study, using Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA) data, reports a strong link between drug use and motor vehicle theft (MVT). The study examined information collected from a nonrepresentative sample of 7,260 adult detainees from January 2003 to December 2004 and the findings of urine samples provided by more than 80 per cent of the detainee participants. Nine out of ten MVT offenders tested positive to at least one drug with almost six in ten testing positive to at least two. The proportion of MVT offenders who tested positive for amphetamines, benzodiazepines, cannabis and opiates was higher than for other offenders. In the case of methadone and cocaine, both groups tested positive at comparatively equal, low levels. The report also found that, compared to other offenders, MVT offenders had lower levels of education and were younger at the time of their first arrest. They were also more likely to be recipients of government benefits and income from crime and to have been arrested in the previous year. |
| Motor Vehicle Theft in SA - A Profile of Juvenile Offenders (Released: July 2005 - Size: 470kb) | Research in South Australia has indicated that on an annual basis, juveniles account for approximately 40 per cent of apprehensions for motor vehicle theft. To investigate the nature of this seemingly high level of involvement of young people in vehicle theft, this study analysed a cohort of individuals, born in 1985, who came into contact with the criminal justice system by way of an apprehension as a juvenile. The findings suggest that involvement in vehicle theft is an indicator of a relatively serious offending lifestyle and that any intervention that is targeted towards these offenders is likely to reduce the number of repeat offenders and lessen the burden on the criminal justice system. The report also found that programs that address the motivations of juvenile vehicle theft offenders are likely to be the most effective in steering young offenders away from a criminal career and reducing the incidence of vehicle theft. |
| Engine Immobilisers - How effective are they? (Released: October 2001 - Size: 253kb) | There is little publicly available evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of immobilisers outside of laboratory controlled conditions. This paper provides a comprehensive evaluation of the influence that OEM immobilisers have on vehicle theft within Australia. The study concludes that there is strong evidence that the theft rate of an immobilised vehicle is significantly lower than that of a non-immobilised vehicle and that immobilisers built to the current Australian Standard were significantly more effective than immobilisers that do not meet this standard. |
| Arson on the Increase - Motor Vehicle Theft and Arson in SA (Released: June 2000 - Size: 543kb) | Arson represents a significant social and financial cost to the South Australian community. This paper presents detailed analyses of the problem with a five year likely growth estimate. |
| The Dispersion of Motor Vehicle Theft and Recovery in SA (Released: April 2000 -Size: 193kb) | This paper aims to graphically illustrate the dispersion of motor vehicle theft for South Australia during 1998 and to show how the increase since 1997 was apportioned. |
South Australian Statistical Reports
