Everyday in New Zealand we are seeing the car theft happen more and more often, every time I personally go on Facebook there's "another". This is getting out of hand and I believe that it is because of the lack of penalty for such crime. Criminals work on a basis of risk, many do it now because they get away with it and they know how to. 

You often see even kids as young as 12 getting involved in car theft now, especially for "joy rides", there is a severe lack of penalty for such a life affecting theft that not even kids are scared to do it.

This not only raises insurance for no fault of the owners but makes people miss out on work, loss valuable items, have to invest on higher security measures and just constantly worry about it happening again.

This year (2019) up until the end of august according to the police report 77% of crimes committed were against property, in that there has been over 50,000 thefts and crimes involving motor vehicles, that is over 200 per DAY, this is ridiculous for such a small country.

Another issue with car theft in New Zealand is the amount of "Enthusiasts" having their cars targeted. Many people who put "blood sweet and tears" into getting their dreams car and have them take in matters of minutes. Cars such as American Classics, JDM Classics, Euro Sports Cars and many others and constantly getting targeted and some even shipped out the country to nearby islands.

This has to STOP and the only way to stop theft is increasing penalties, make it not worth the risk anymore. I had my car stolen 2 years ago and I know how it feels for each car owner I see everyday who unfortunately lost their pride and joy as well.