The Government's Crime Reduction Strategy
Tackling Vehicle Crime
Action points
A national target, announced by the Prime Minister in October 1998, to reduce vehicle crime by 30% over the period April 1999 to March 2004;
£170 million investment in CCTV to create safer car parks, town centres and residential neighbourhoods;
Improved security on new and used cars;
Better links between information systems and new procedures at The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).
Key facts One in five car owners are "very worried" about having their vehicle stolen and young men in particular worry much more about this than any other crime. Thefts of, and from, vehicles is one of the largest categories of crime recorded by the police. In 1998/99 they recorded over a million thefts of, or from, vehicles – 21% of all recorded crime. Cars which are 11 years old are fourteen times more likely to be stolen than those which are new. |
2. Vehicle crime accounts for over a fifth of all recorded crime, with over a million thefts of and from vehicles recorded during 1998/99. It costs us over £3 billion a year and causes immense distress and inconvenience to its victims. Internationally, we compare badly to other countries. The International Crime Victims Survey which allows comparisons of victimisation levels in a number of different countries was conducted in 1988, 1991 and 1995. For theft of cars, when related to car ownership, England and Wales has topped this table in all three surveys. That is why, like domestic burglary, we are targeting vehicle crime and why the Prime Minister has set a national target of reducing vehicle crime by 30% over five years. In practice that means that by March 2004 there should be 323,000 fewer car crimes a year than there were in April 1999.
The Vehicle Crime Reduction Action Team (VCRAT)
3. To develop a strategy for achieving this target we have set a Vehicle Crime Reduction Action Team chaired by Mike Wear from the Ford Motor Company and including representatives from the motor and insurance industries, organisations like the AA, the police and the DVLA. They have concluded that the target is achievable - but only if all those who have a contribution to make play their part. That includes motor manufacturers and retailers, insurers, the vehicle salvage industry, local authorities, police, local Crime & Disorder reduction partnerships, car park operators - and all of us motorists.
Tackling vehicle crime - a 5-year strategy
4. On 22 September the Action Team published its strategy setting out proposals on how to meet the national target by March 2004. It concluded that the target could be met, reducing vehicle crime by over 300,000 offences a year, by:
improved security on new cars. Since 1998 electronic immobilisers on new cars have been compulsory under EU law. This alone should prevent 120,000 vehicle crimes over the next five years. But we will also be encouraging manufacturers to fit deadlocks and other security features on a wide range of models.
improving the security of used cars. The Action Team has proposed that electronic immobilisers should be mandatory for 7-10 year old vehicles. If all cars that are 7 to 10 years old (which have a far higher risk of theft than newer models) were fitted with immobilisers, the Action Team estimates that this would deliver 60,000 fewer offences a year by the end of the target period.
better policing and community responses that target prolific offenders, crime "hotspots" and the market for stolen goods.
improving security in car parks (where 22% of all vehicle crime takes place). The Association of Chief Police Officers has established a Secured Car Parks Scheme, with a target of achieving 2,000 car parks with award status by the end of the year 2000. (Car parks which have gained the award show average reductions in car crime of about 70%.) The cash injection we are putting into CCTV should help make this target a reality.
Improving links between information systems, including the Police National Computer and the DVLA.
Reducing the market for stolen vehicles by developing new procedures at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and working with the motor salvage industry to stop stolen vehicles being given the identity of other, legitimate, vehicles.
Action is already in hand on some of these proposals. In other, the Government will come to firm conclusions following the period of consultation on the Action Team's proposals.
Targets
5. Under the best value framework every police authority will have to publish 5-year targets for reducing vehicle crime by April 2000, which at least match the performance of the top 25% of comparable authorities.
CCTV
6. To support these local efforts we have made available £170 million, allocated on a project basis, to extend the benefits of CCTV to help reduce crime and increase detection. More than 370 bids have been shortlisted for approval in the first round of the CCTV initiative and the first of the new or expanded CCTV systems should be operational in the spring. The emphasis in this first round of the initiative, has been on improving the physical security of car parks as part of the vehicle crime reduction strategy. A second round of bids will bring in other crime reduction priorities.
7. We estimate that the Action Team's proposed package of measures will deliver the reductions in vehicle crime needed to achieve the Government’s target. The main reductions will be achieved by:
| c. 50,000 |
| c. 50,000 |
| c. 50,000 |
| c. 180,000 |
| c. 80,000 |
These improvements will continue to deliver further vehicle crime reductions in the future, beyond the period of the target.
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The Government's Crime Reduction Strategy, Contents
Last update: Thursday, September 28, 2006