Government move will deal blow to organised crime

3 May 2007

Media release

Government move to make car marking compulsory will deal mega blow to organised crime

The Government's decision to go ahead with a plan to mark all newly registered cars with microdots will deal a mega blow to highly organised car theft crime rings in New Zealand.

It will also help to usher in car insurance premium cuts as the number of vehicles which totally 'disappear' each year is dramatically reduced, according to DataDot Technology (NZ) Ltd, a firm already applying microdots to vehicles in New Zealand.

Spraying about 7000 DataDots, each the size of a pin head but containing a vehicle's unique Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), has resulted in a sustained cut in thefts of between 60 and 90% of marked vehicles, compared with the same brands' unmarked models, according to an independent evaluation by the Australian National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council.

"It's good news for vehicle owners and taxpayers that the Government has reaffirmed its decision to go ahead with the vehicle marking initiative. Everyone who has had a car stolen and the rest of us who are paying for it through our insurance premiums is going to be delighted to give the police a major new weapon to fight the car crime gangs. DataDots are already resulting in criminal convictions in New Zealand. Some vehicle distributors, like Subaru New Zealand, have been using them on all new vehicles and have seen theft rates plummet to near zero," DataDot Technology's Managing Director, David Lumsden, says.

The professional gangs are getting away with a car every 85 minutes. The announcement today is going to make life very difficult for organised crime in New Zealand

24,089 vehicles were stolen in 2005-2006, up 15.5% on the previous year
Of these, 30% or 7227 cars are unlikely ever to be recovered
Of this 30%, 6179 were likely to have been taken by professional thieves.

This means about 17 cars per day are "disappearing" completely, to be cut up for parts, or given new identification, then sold by highly sophisticated professional car crime operations.

"The new initiative to have every newly registered light passenger vehicle, with nine seats or fewer and under 15 years old, sprayed with microdots. It means the professional theft rate could be halved in the next 10 years as more and more of the national fleet is covered," Mr Lumsden says. "Insurance companies have told us and the Government that they expect to cut insurance premiums as the theft rate falls."

Some insurance companies are already offering 10% premium cuts and nil excess on claims for trailer boats; PWC's and motorcycles being sprayed with DataDots in New Zealand.

Mr Lumsden reaffirmed DataDot Technology plans to set up a New Zealand factory to make DataDots. The WOVM initiative will create more than 100 full time jobs in New Zealand.

A cost benefit analysis, independently audited by Pricewaterhouse Coopers, shows the introduction WOVM could deliver an $80 million-a-year body blow to organised crime and it could halve organised car crime in 10 years.

Not only will WOVM reduce crime, but it is an invaluable investigative tool for Police and the Courts, assisting and enabling criminal convictions.

A full copy of the cost benefit analysis, and other information of DataDot technology, is available at www.datadot.co.nz

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