Dubbo car thefts rise as thieves post crimes on Instagram

It looks as though 2023 will be on track for another year of a high number of car thefts, with a string of them happening in the region.

One Dubbo resident, who will not be identified for safety concerns, recently had their car stolen when they were asleep.

The man woke to police at his door about 3am on January 19, who told him he had been broken into and one of his cars had been stolen.

"I was wondering what was happening, thinking some tragedy had happened," he said.

The man, who lives on Bunglegumbie Road, normally has his front gate shut but due to all the rain he had left it open.

"They had driven down my driveway, taken a look at the old ute I use for work and the horses, the key was in the ignition, but that wasn't the car they stole," he said.

The thieves had taken his LandCruiser, which meant they had to break into his house first to steal the keys.

The people who had stolen the car then crashed the vehicle and left it for police to find.

"The damage looks minor but they put a hole in the motor so it was a write-off with a repair bill of around $70,000," he said.

While he had car insurance for the vehicle, the man was left $20,000 out of pocket by having to buy a new vehicle.

"The worst thing about it is that I need it for the horses to take them up to the showground and I can't go to the races," he said.

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The morning after the theft, the man went to warn his neighbour, who told him she had seen some of his clothing up the road.

"I drove down the road and saw my racing pants, then my horse gear, so all down the road the thieves had scattered my stuff," he said.

A week or two after the theft, the man's nephew came across an Instagram page that showed young men standing with his uncle's car.

"They broke into my house while I was sleeping and just took the keys and away they went. I thought it might have been one or two but when I saw a photo of about five or six of them with my car, you see that you are really outnumbered," he said.

"It seems they've knocked a few cars off ... If I saw them, I would explode."

The man has been back and forth with Dubbo police, but has been told they've had no luck capturing the culprits.

"I feel sorry for the police, they arrest them, they go to court and they get released again," he said.

Motor vehicle thefts were nearly seven times greater in the Orana and Far West region than the rest of NSW, on a per capita basis, according to the new data.

In the 12 months to September 2022, 283 vehicles were stolen in the Dubbo Regional Council area.

Assistant Commissioner Brett Greentree, APM, Corporate Sponsor for Rural Crime said the 'trend' of posting crime online "goes beyond stupidity and recklessness".

"The maximum penalty for a break and enter is 14 years imprisonment, which increases to 20 years in circumstances of aggravation and 25 years in circumstances of special aggravation," he said.

"For vehicle theft, the maximum penalty can be five or 10 years imprisonment, depending on the circumstances, and five years just for travelling in a stolen car."

Mr Greentree said there were a raft of offences which can be applied for the manner in which people drive.

"That's without taking into consideration the likelihood this type of behaviour may injure or kill the occupants of the vehicle, or worse, an innocent road user," he said.

Mr Greentree said filming yourself committing a crime and posting the video online was a sure-fire way to get yourself arrested, charged and convicted of the offence.

"Everything posted online leaves a digital footprint and even deleted posts/videos can be recovered and tendered as evidence," he said.

"We would ask anyone considering jumping onto this trend: 'Are a few moments of fame on the internet worth dying for? Or at best, spending years in prison?'."