In the last ten years there have been numerous attempts to generate a nationally coordinated response to car theft. A failure to achieve national coordination has been identified as one of the factors contributing to Australia’s high rate of car theft, which is second only to the UK among major western countries. A comprehensive approach has failed to emerge due to differing industry perspectives, conflicting economic interests, and patchy government support for required strategies.
The Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Plan Final Report of the National Motor Vehicle Theft Task Force (The Report) was released in November 1997. The Report proposes an industry-agreed national strategy to prevent car theft, which aims to surmount the barriers which have previously blocked the development of a comprehensive plan. Detective Senior Sergeant Ray Carroll from Victoria Police and Philip Hill, from the Victorian Department of Justice, prepared the Final Report on behalf of the Task Force, Chaired by Leon Daphne, Managing Director of Nissan Australia. Drawing on the report, Philip Hill discusses national information exchange, registration procedures, juvenile vehicle theft prevention, vehicle identifiers, and vehicle security improvements.