Thieves find soft target in motorcycles

MORE than 30 cars continue to be stolen on the Gold Coast every week.

But it is the theft of motorbikes where authorities have noticed a sharp spike, with 15 per cent of the 1525 motorbike thefts across Queensland last year on the Glitter Strip.

The latest National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council data shows 1702 vehicles were stolen on the Gold Coast last year, up 1.4 per cent on 2016.

Statewide, a car is stolen in Queensland every 58 minutes, with over 173 cars disappearing each day.

Retiree Dave Dures had his 1994 Softail Heritage Classic Harley Davidson stolen seven weeks ago.

Mr Dures had purchased the bike using his retirement funds. “I had done it up and worked on it for years.

“The police think they have just put it on the back of a ute.”

The retired defence force engineer said while his bike was valued at only $15,000 by insurance, it was his link to the community.

“I was out there most weekends with friends, but now what is a bikie without a bike?”

Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council executive director Ray Carroll said the number of motorbike thefts had been on the rise for the past five years.

“Overall, the story has been really good since the 2000s where we saw a year-on-year decline as a result of better security technology,” Mr Carroll said.

“But since 2013 the numbers have become really patchy and we have seen an increase now characterised by more and more people breaking into houses taking keys,” he said.

Mr Carroll said the theft of motorbikes was often much harder to prevent.

“Half are off-road and unregistered, so they are harder to track down.”

On a population base of all thefts per 100,000, the Gold Coast ranked fourth in the state, Mr Carroll said.

“The increasing problem in Queensland is mostly focused in regional or northern towns. There are always a couple of factors, the socio-economic spread, the average age of cars and population size of the LGA.”

Saturday nights between 8pm-midnight are peak times in Queensland.