E-Petition

The Petition of residents of the State of Queensland draws to the attention of the House that vehicle theft and related property crime continue to occur across Australia and significantly impact community safety. In Queensland, these offences disproportionately affect regional cities such as Cairns and Townsville, where vehicles are essential for employment, family responsibilities, and access to vital services.

Many of these crimes are opportunistic and occur in residential hot-spot areas, often overnight while residents are asleep. Current responses are largely reactive, taking effect only after an offence has occurred, leaving victims to manage financial loss, emotional distress, and disrupted livelihoods.

While victim support services exist, there are no measures within victim assistance programs that actively reduce repeat victimisation. A preventative, community-focused pilot in Cairns and Townsville would support residential vehicle patrols and practical measures to improve overnight safety and better support victims through prevention rather than reaction.

Your petitioners, therefore, request the House to pilot the implementation of residential vehicle patrols in identified hot-spot areas to provide visible deterrence, improve early intervention, and enhance community safety outcomes, and to fund an immobiliser grant or subsidy program as part of the pilot, prioritising victims of vehicle theft and vulnerable households, thereby closing the gap in Victims of Crime assistance by enabling access to preventative measures that reduce repeat victimisation.