More than 200 vehicles have been listed as stolen from the Bay of Plenty on a new website set up by New Zealand Police.
The website was set up on Friday and makes the details of all vehicles reported stolen over the past six months available to anyone with a
computer.
The database is an initiative that was developed by a newly-formed Crime Prevention Partnership Forum, involving 10 groups including the police.
Users can view a list of all outstanding vehicles that have been stolen during the past six months for all of New Zealand or in a single police district or combination of districts.
However, the Western Bay of Plenty comes under the wider Bay of Plenty umbrella and local information was not available for Tauranga residents.
Police were yesterday unable to breakdown the Bay of Plenty list to local station areas such as Papamoa, Te Puke, Mt Maunganui or Tauranga.
However, last year's figures showed 341 cars were reported stolen in the Western Bay of Plenty area.
The hardest-hit area was Tauranga City with 89 cars stolen. Mount Maunganui was also a popular haunt for thieves, with 63 vehicles taken - nearly twice that of Papamoa. Te Puke had more than twice as many cars stolen as Katikati. Most cars were taken over the summer period.
Last year Toyotas were the most popular for thieves, although in November 2009, equal numbers of Toyotas and Nissans were taken.
According to the new website, Toyotas remain one of the most popular stolen cars again with 41 listed as nicked within the past six months.
The 10 most favoured cars to be stolen in New Zealand, according to AA Insurance are a Honda Torneo, Nissan Elgrand, Subaru Impreza, Subaru Forester, Subaru Legacy, Nissan Skyline, Nissan Presea, Mitsubishi Libero, Nissan Cefiro and Nissan Sunny.
On the new website, only 20 Nissans have been reported stolen and 17 Subarus - including 15 Subaru Legacys.
Deputy Commissioner Mike Bush said the new initiative was a free, up-to-date service that provided a simple, on the spot way of checking on a vehicle.
Many of the businesses involved in CPPF will get great benefits from the database, Mr Bush said.
"It will be a resource for security guards, insurance companies, moteliers, scrap metal dealers and community policing patrols," Mr Bush said.
"It also has obvious benefits for people buying second-hand vehicles, garages that service vehicles and service stations where petrol thefts can regularly be associated with stolen vehicles."
The data-base allows the search via registration plate number, VIN, engine or chassis number. This is run against all outstanding stolen flagged numbers.
A hit will return the make, vehicle type and colour, and when the vehicle was reported stolen.
According to AA Insurance claims data, a car manufactured between 2000 and 2004 is three times more likely to be stolen than a car manufactured between 2005 and 2010.
Head of operations for AA Insurance Martin Fox said New Zealand had a large fleet of ageing, second-hand imported cars so it was no surprise that older models, which had few or no security features compared to newer vehicles, were easy targets for thieves.
"Installing visible anti-theft devices such as a steering lock or flashing car alarm can reduce the risk of theft," Mr Fox said.
Mr Bush said the website would potentially provide police with "more pairs of eyes out there".
"People can do their own checking and then report it to Police," Mr Bush said.
"It's an extra deterrent for offenders because now anyone with a smart phone can run the vehicle through the data-base on the spot, The risk of being caught with a stolen vehicle has just risen considerably."
The data-base is expected to be updated three times a day. Police are hoping that with its introduction rates of vehicle theft will continue to decrease and more stolen vehicles will be recovered.
The website is available at www.police.govt.nz/stolen/vehicles.
Tips for preventing car theft
- Always lock your car, even when parking at home
- Keep all valuables and your car keys out of sight
- Park in a well-lit street or secure car park
- Install visible security such as an alarm light or steering lock
- Never leave your car running when unattended
- AA Insurance
