RAC reveals worst regional suburbs for property crime

21 December 2009

In the lead-up to Christmas, the RAC is urging Western Australians to be extra vigilant against crime with new RAC Insurance figures revealing the worst suburbs for home burglary and motor theft insurance claims.

The analysis of insurance claims over a two year period identified Geraldton and Kalgoorlie as the hot spots for property crime with eight of the 10 worst suburbs coming from these cities.

According to the data, the worst regional suburb was Rangeway followed by South Kalgoorlie and Tarcoola Beach.

RAC Insurance Manager Technical Claims Glen Walker said while these figures represented crime over a number of years, traditionally home and motor theft increased over summer with the Christmas and New Year period being particularly bad.

“At this time of year, thieves typically try to exploit Christmas presents left under the tree or families that have left their homes unoccupied while on holiday,” Mr Walker said.

“People tend to become more complacent when the weather warms up but this is the time when thieves are more active and extra caution needs to be taken.

“We’re asking everyone to remember to lock the doors and windows of their house – even when they’re at home where practical – and not leave valuables in their car or car keys in an obvious location. An alarm system is also a proven deterrent for home burglary.”

Mr Walker said the insurance data highlighting the worst suburbs sent a clear message that crime in regional areas needed to be addressed with new community strategies and assistance from the State Government.

“The Geraldton suburbs of Rangeway and Spalding continuously rank highly in RAC crime analysis which sends a clear message that more needs to be done to combat crime in those areas,” he said.

“Geraldton suburbs make up half of the worst 10, which is unacceptable, and Rangeway has the highest combined frequency in the State, including the metropolitan area.

“The State Government needs to step in, take a close look at what is happening in these suburbs and come up with a strategy that is going to produce real results. The ‘Burglar Beware’ strategy seems to have lost momentum now.”

The data analysed looked at RAC Insurance home and motor theft claims from July 2007 to June 2009.

The worst Kalgoorlie suburbs were South Kalgoorlie and Piccadilly.

“Community members also need to take some responsibility for preventing these crimes and become more security conscious,” Mr Walker said.

“Too often opportunistic burglars gain access to homes through unlocked doors and windows, particularly over the summer months.”

Mr Walker said car owners also needed to adopt a few simple rules to protect their car.

“Some of these precautions include parking in a well-lit area, using secure car parks and having an immobiliser fitted if your car doesn’t already have one.

“Cars left at home need to be kept, where possible, in a garage or carport because cars left on the verge are more likely to be damaged or stolen.”

Worst performing regional suburbs/town:
RANGEWAY
SOUTH KALGOORLIE
TARCOOLA BEACH
PICCADILLY
MOORA
SOMERVILLE
UTAKARRA
WAGGRAKINE
SPALDING
NORTHAM

Best performing regional suburbs/towns:
BROADWATER
LOWER KING
AUGUSTA
BRIDGETOWN
GINGIN
YALLINGUP
DENMARK
KENDENUP
MUCHEA
COWARAMUP

Editor’s note: Data from 2007/08 and 2008/09 for suburbs with at least 250 policies in force on average in each of 2007/08 and 2008/09.

Download the release (pdf)