Short-term thefts of passenger and light commercial vehicles have increased 11% in the past five years in Victoria and WA, while NSW shows a steady decline, the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council (NMVTRC) says.

Nationally there was a 1% increase in all motor vehicle thefts in the year to September, the council’s latest figures show.

But volumes were down 7% compared with five years ago.

The number of passenger and light commercial vehicles thefts was up 2% nationally to 40,731 in the year, while motorcycle thefts were unchanged at 8194.

Heavy and other vehicle thefts declined 4% to 2609.

Profit-motivated thefts were down 27% in NSW, but it had the largest number. Profit-motivated thefts in the ACT, NT and Tasmania remained relatively stable.

Nationally, short-term and profit-motivated passenger and light commercial vehicle thefts were both up 2% in the year, to 30,544 and 10,177 respectively.

Short-term motorbike thefts fell 5% to 3571 nationwide, while profit-motivated motorbike thefts increased 5% to 4623 vehicles.

Short-term heavy vehicle thefts fell 8% to 1227, while profit-motivated thefts remained stable at 1382.

NMVTRC Executive Director Ray Carroll blames “cultural pockets” in Melbourne’s northern and eastern suburbs for Victoria’s high rate of short-term passenger and light commercial vehicle theft.

He says youths break into houses to steal keys – a trend that is replicated in Perth, where 90% of cars have immobilisers.

The NMVTRC and Perth’s RAC are currently trialling GPS tracking devices in cars that can lead police to high-volume vehicle thieves.