Motor vehicle theft has fallen by a staggering 60% in the past 10 years as technology and socio-economic changes have cut the allure of joyriding and car laundering.

Research from the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council (NMVTRC) shows the total number of vehicle thefts in 2010/11 fell to 61,496 from 139,269 in 2000/01.

The value of insurance claims for stolen cars also fell dramatically to $182 million in the last financial year from $297 million in 2001/02. When adjusted for inflation, that’s a 52% saving over the past nine years.

NMVTRC Executive Director Ray Carroll said the reasons for the fall are complex and include the introduction of compulsory immobilisation devices in 2001.

“But there are still about 5 million cars out there that don’t have them,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

A change in socio-economic conditions has also contributed to the decline in car theft.

“Your average joyriding car thief was a 14-18 year old juvenile, and they’re more of an electronic generation now,” Mr Carroll said. “They’re inside playing games instead of roaming the streets.”

He says Australia’s relatively buoyant economy and higher school retention rates have also reduced the number of “idle” youths with no money but time on their hands for opportunistic theft.

However, the “two-speed economy” in parts of WA and Queensland has contributed to a slight rise in vehicle thefts in the first half of 2011.

“It’s booming if you’re associated with the mining industry, but if you are a 16 year old who has already left school, you aren’t going to get a job,” he said.

The declining rate of theft means the police are less overwhelmed by volume and more able to use “intelligence” to catch the small number of thieves who do most of the stealing.

A developing new trend is the use of expensive high-powered vehicles as “getaway” cars and for “ram-raiding” automatic teller machines.

“They are being stolen not for their value but for their performance. They end up burning them to get rid of the DNA and fingerprints.

“And that’s costing insurers $150,000-$200,000 each time.”