The National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council is not only trying to catch car thieves, it is also helping turn them into valuable members of society.

CEO Ray Carroll told insuranceNEWS.com.au the highlights of the past financial year were the Stolen Vehicle Rapid Response Initiative and the offender diversion program Synergy.

Synergy started in December last year, and unlike previous programs it pays for itself.

Created in partnership with Suncorp, Mission Australia and the Kangan Institute, the scheme gives recidivist car thieves work in the Synergy Repairs shop.

“We’ve done offender programs before but the money would run out, and it’s hard to get funding,” Mr Carroll said. “So we decided to do something that was self-funding.

“It’s only workable because Suncorp has helped. It sends cars with the right level of damage. It also mentors young guys through the program and introduces them into the repairer networks.”

Mr Carroll told insuranceNEWS.com.au the program has a rolling intake of 20 a year, and the return on investment is “huge”.

“It doesn’t sound like much but some of these guys have been high-rate offenders in the past.

“If you can get just one of these guys off the street you could save 100 car thefts a year and millions of dollars.”

Participants are also given numeracy and literacy training, and help with drug addiction.

Mr Carroll is also excited about the Stolen Vehicle Rapid Response Initiative trial in Perth, which began last December and is sponsored by RAC Insurance.

It uses GPS tracking devices in cars that, if stolen, send messages to owners’ smartphones. Police can then track the vehicle via GPS and avoid dangerous high-speed chases.

“The main purpose of the pilot is to prove this sort of technology does work,” Mr Carroll said.

“The device is reputable and tested – it will give police confidence in the system.”

Mr Carroll hopes the pilot leads to the security industry consolidating, so police can link to one system.

He says the program aims to catch a very small number of high-rate offenders who are highly mobile and transient, and can be costly to apprehend.

Perth was chosen for the trial because 90% of cars there have immobilisers, which has led to a spike in house burglaries to steal keys.