Unlawful use of a motor vehicle

Download the spotlight (PDF, 2.1 MB)

This report is part of the Sentencing Spotlight series. These publications present statistics on sentencing outcomes for offences finalised in Queensland courts.

Our Sentencing Spotlight on unlawful use of a motor vehicle, defined under section 408A of the Criminal Code, provides insight into cases sentenced between July 2005 and June 2020.

Our research found:

  • a total of 41,336 cases involved unlawful use of a motor vehicle offences
  • in 16,022 cases the most serious offence was unlawful use of a motor vehicle
  • 76.2% of offenders were male
  • the average age of offenders was 23.2 years old, while the most common age of an offender was 17 years old
  • 35.5% of offenders were Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
  • 48.4% of adult offenders received a custodial sentence
  • the most common penalties for children were probation (22.3%) and community service (21.0%)
  • male offenders typically received longer prison sentences than females
  • the regions with the highest rate of offenders were Far North Queensland and North Queensland.

Read the media release

Technical paper

Our technical paper explains important terminology, data sources, counting rules and methodologies for our research publications.
Download technical paper (PDF, 139.3 KB)