Motor vehicle theft in New England and North West escalates

The New England North West region has seen the sharpest increase in car theft rates in the state, up 67 per cent according to data from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and research.

A Crime and Justice statistics bureau brief 'The increase in motor vehicle theft in NSW up to March 2023', released in June 2023, reveals there are a number of regional areas that have shown strong increases in motor vehicle theft.

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In New England and North West, motor vehicle theft was 67 per cent higher in the year to March 2023 compared to five years earlier and the number of vehicles stolen in March 2023 was the highest since records began in 1995.

Comparatively, the Richmond Tweed area saw a 35 per cent rise in motor vehicle theft, the Far West Orana was up 31 per cent and the Mid North Coast was up 21 per cent.

Young people appear to be responsible for the increase in vehicle theft with a 179 per cent increase in legal actions against the group over the five years to March 2023.

In June, a man was stabbed during a violent home invasion at Garibaldi Street which was believed to be connected to a vehicle that was stolen on June 23 and torched not long after the attack.

A car was stolen and set alight on the Dumeresq Creek bike path near Niagara Street on Tuesday, August 15 and another vehicle was stolen on August 23 that led police on a high-speed chase through Armidale.

Kathy Clare, creator and moderator of the Facebook page 'Armidale Neighborhood Watch Community Group' says the page is so busy it sometimes feels like a full-time job.

"With regards to motor vehicle theft specifically, there is most definitely an upward trend and has been since I started the page in 2018.

"We are just past the halfway point of the year but already it appears we have reached close to the average of stolen and burnt-out cars.

"Also, the frequency of cars that are being torched compared to those that have been stolen is definitely increasing also," she said.

Kathy felt that one consideration Armidale Regional Council could make is restricting access to the creeklands area where a number of cars are taken and destroyed.

"In my view, it would make a lot of sense to install bollards at those access points," she said.

"The offenders of these crimes, they are a law upon themselves.

"I feel sorry for the police and detectives that spend hours upon hours on the streets and gathering evidence only to watch these individuals walk through the court system, it must be so frustrating."

The increase has, at least partly, been blamed on TikTok, as young people are being encouraged to steal cars and share videos and photos of their exploits to the social media platform.

BOSCAR note that most posts uploaded to social media that boast of vehicle theft crimes are removed by the platform making it difficult to gauge the degree that TikTok and other social media platforms are affecting the increase.

An analysis of trends specific to the Armidale LGA reveals, there has been an increase in the number of incidents of motor vehicle theft over the past 12 months with 72 incidents in the 12 months to March 2023 compared to 28 incidents in the 12 months to March 2022.

There were also increases in the number of offenders aged 10-17 years proceeded against by police for motor vehicle theft in Armidale over the last 12 months, with 15 young offenders proceeded against in the 12 months to March 2023, compared to 1 to 4 offenders in the 12 months to March 2022.

A statement from New England Police District Commander, Detective Superintendent Steve Laksa said the social media 'trend' of stealing cars and posting videos to TikTok and other platforms goes beyond stupidity and recklessness.

"These are crimes. Everything that is posted online leaves a digital footprint and even deleted posts/videos can be recovered and tendered as evidence," he said.

"For vehicle theft, the maximum penalty can be 5- or 10-years imprisonment and five years just for travelling in a stolen vehicle.

"We would ask anyone considering jumping onto this 'trend', "are a few moments of fame on the internet worth dying for? Or at best, spending years in prison?

"Our message is clear-Everyone in the community deserves to feel safe and our officers will be doing everything they can to catch those responsible," he said.

Police urge residents to report any suspicious activity to local police or call the police assistance line on 131 444 and call Triple Zero (000) in an emergency.

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