Data shows inner city car vandalism on the rise

By Mick Roberts

If you park your car in the inner-city, the chances you will return to find it vandalised are the highest in the state, new research has found.
Almost 90 cars a week are maliciously damaged in NSW according to a car insurer’s research, and the inner-city area of Sydney is where it happens most.
NRMA spokesman Robert McDonald said malicious damage to cars is a senseless crime costing the community as much as $16 million annually. The insurer received almost 4500 malicious car damage claims in 2007, which he says causes unnecessary inconvenience, emotional trauma and out of pocket expenses to motorists.
‘We regularly see cases of smashed windows, stolen badges, broken mirrors and key scratches, which on average cost around $1500 to repair,’ Mr McDonald said.
He said everyone who owns a vehicle could be a victim of malicious damage, but residents in the inner-city are at an increased risk.
‘We encourage them to consider very carefully where they park their vehicles during the day as well as night,’ he said.
He said if parking your car on the street or in a car park, ensure it is in a well-lit area and visible to passers-by.
Also removing valuables, especially portable GPS units and their mounting brackets was a good preventative measure, he said.
Meanwhile Woolloomooloo and Darlinghurst have rated in the top 10 suburbs in NSW where people are likely to have their car stolen.
The information was drawn from 2007 AAMI claims data and is based on the number of car thefts reported from people’s homes in the suburb’s postcode.
Woolloomooloo is the most risky suburb for car thieves according to the number of claims from the insurer’s customers. The suburb came in at number 5, only outdone by suburbs such as Dulwich at number one, Rockdale at number two, and Matraville at number four.
Darlinghurst rated number 8, with North Bondi coming in 10.
AAMI spokeswoman Rebecca Aley said the most incidents of car thieves in the state were Sydney suburbs south of the Harbour Bridge.
‘Most of the top 10 suburbs listed are south of the city, with some such as Marrickville and Matriville, located near the airport,’ she said.
The data coincides with the release of independent research commissioned for AAMI about NSW drivers’ use of car theft deterrents and their experiences of car theft.
The research found more than half of NSW drivers (58 per cent) have engine immobilisers fitted to their cars. The National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council research shows immobilisers are fitted to around 45 per cent of all vehicles in Australia, but only seven per cent of stolen vehicles, reinforcing their ability to prevent a vehicle from being stolen.
The research found that three per cent of drivers nationally had the experience of having their car stolen, with one-third of these (33 per cent) stolen from the owner’s driveway, garage or carport.
This was followed closely by theft from a public car park (27 per cent), the owner’s street or a nearby street (25 per cent), or somewhere else (15 per cent).