Golden target for car thieves

THE Gold Coast has topped the list of the state’s biggest car crime hot spots, with summer declared the most common time of year for thefts.

Insurance data from Suncorp reveals Gold Coasters are the state’s most likely to have their vehicles stolen or broken into, with four of Queensland’s top six suburbs for car theft based here.

Southport has topped the list for both Suncorp and RACQ claims for the past three years, with police receiving 388 reports of car theft in Southport in the past 12 months alone, although not all have been substantiated.

Surfers Paradise earned third spot on the Suncorp list, with 150 reports to police, while Nerang and Labrador rounded out fifth and sixth places with 98 and 79 reports respectively.

A Bulletin data crunch this month of information from the Queensland Police interactive crime map revealed more than five people a day were being charged with car theft on the Gold Coast.

Suncorp spokeswoman Ashleigh Paterson said carrelated crime increased by as much as 20 per cent in December and January.

“Concerningly, most cars – 60 per cent – are stolen from or broken into at the owner’s

1. Southport

2. Caboolture

3. Surfers Paradise

4. Kirwan

5. Nerang

6. Labrador

7. Woodridge

8. Redbank Plains

9. Morayfield

10. Inala

home as a result of being left unlocked because the vehicle is parked on their property,” she said.

RACQ spokeswoman Clare Hunter said Holden Commodores were their most commonly stolen car models, followed by Toyota LandCruiser and Hilux models.

Acting Senior Sergeant Steve Thomas, from the Southport police station, said a three-month operation was under way to put the brakes on theft in the area.

“There’s a fair bit of unlawful entry of motor vehicles (break-ins) but a lot of that we find is people are not securing their vehicles so they’re an easy target,” he said.

“People still leave their wallets and handbags in there all the time which astounds me.”

He said the theft of number plates was also an issue nd encouraged car owners to collect free one-way screws from local police stations to protect their number plates.