Petrol theft expected to rise in Australia as police call for more CCTV and prepaid pumps | Petrol prices

The rusty green fuel trailer doesn’t look like it’s worth stealing. But sometime before March 1 he was tied to the back of a vehicle and taken from a property at Huntley, south of Orange in New South Wales’ central highlands.

This was just one in a series of thefts that police are keeping a watchful eye on across Australia.

There were 800 liters of diesel in the tank. Since the bombing of Iran on February 28, the price of diesel has risen to $3 per liter in some places; The price of unleaded fuel is not far behind either.

Police have warned that rising fuel prices and fears of shortages are expected to increase thefts from petrol stations and farms.

In South Australia, the police commissioner has even flagged that officers may stop investigating “drive-bys” at service stations unless retailers install pre-paid pumps. Grant Stevens said this comes as there has been an increase in oil thefts this month, including by first-time offenders.

The police commissioner told the ABC: “This takes the police away from other responsibilities that we might be taking on, so we are calling on the retail fuel industry to take positive steps to prevent this almost overnight by implementing pre-paid within their capabilities.”

“We have been seeing reports of this type of crime for years, perhaps decades, and I know I have been agitating for years to see something more proactive from the industry.

“If you were stupid enough to leave your television in front of your house every day and have it stolen, there would come a point when we would say ‘we are not getting a report from you for this’.”

His comments were quickly rebuked by industry groups, which said prepaid pumps could cost $5,000 each and that cost would be passed on to consumers.

SA police said in a statement that 221 incidents of fuel theft were reported in the week ending March 15, an increase of 59 on the previous week. Ninety-seven of these involved first-time offenders.

Western Australia police commissioner Col Blanch said this week he expected a rise in fuel theft driven by “fear of the unknown”.

“We do see fuel theft outside of times like these, but now more fuel theft will certainly be motivated by that anxiety and fear of the unknown, the future developments and the availability of fuel,” Blanch told ABC radio.

“But what people will actually do is steal it from someone else who is in exactly the same situation as you, has the same fears, the same anxiety, the same cost pressures, so if you steal someone’s fuel I’m not sure it’s going to contribute to a better outcome.

“You could get charged for it, you could ruin your life, you could go to jail, all these things could happen… You can say, ‘But you know, I needed fuel because I didn’t think I would be able to get fuel in the future’ and that’s not going to be a reason for you to avoid court.”

Police patrols have increased in the state’s wheat belt region to deter thieves.

As well as the theft in Huntley, NSW police are also investigating the theft of approximately 500 liters of diesel fuel from a grain storage facility in Nyngan, which was reported on March 11.

Acting Superintendent Andrew Maclean last week warned NSW farmers to expect an increase in fuel theft.

“Landowners are urged to be vigilant about on-farm fuel tanks and police encourage installing surveillance cameras, securing bowser handles with padlocks and keeping detailed records of all fuel use,” Maclean said.

Police in NSW, Victoria and Queensland were unable to provide statistics on the number of recent burglaries but all noted they were vigilant, including in regional areas.

But police in Tasmania said no pattern had emerged of an increase in fuel theft; 44 cases were reported in the last six weeks, but the majority of cases (11) were reported in the week before the conflict began.

ACT police said there had been no increase in fuel thefts, with only six and no incidents of siphoning reported this year, although a spokesman noted such crimes were under-reported.