Crime Reduction - Helping to Reduce Crime in Your Area

Tackling Vehicle Crime Checklist

ABOUT THIS GUIDE

The Home Office Crime Strategy Unit has produced this checklist to support representatives of Government Offices/Welsh Assembly Government (GO/WAG) in their work with Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRP's) on tackling vehicle crime (ie thefts of and from vehicles).

Title: Tackling Vehicle Crime Checklist
Author: Home Office
Date Published: September, 2006
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The checklist provides a guide to the main good practice points GO/WAG representatives can use in their day-to-day dealings with CDRPs or when responding to any areas of concern. It provides headline messages and pointers to where more detailed information can be found where CDRPs consider initiatives relevant to their circumstances. The checklist complements other good practice advice on the website

The aim of the checklist is to improve the practice on the ground in tackling vehicle crime, and to see those improvements consistently across the country. The work of GOs/WAG in galvanising delivery on the ground of high quality, effective targeted initiatives by CDRPs is crucial to making this happen.

INTRODUCTION

This checklist provides information under the following headings:

•  Key considerations
•  Analysis of the nature of the local vehicle crime problem
•  Initiatives relevant to victims and potential victims
•  Initiatives relevant to improving locations
•  Initiatives relevant to tackling offenders and those at risk of offending
•  Supporting partnership working

KEY CONSIDERATIONS

Use a tiered, incremental approach that takes account of the scale of the vehicle crime problem. This approach will help to determine the timescale within which initiatives should be implemented and the level of resources required.

In broad terms, initiatives that relate to victims and those at risk of becoming victims are the first line of defence and can be the quickest and cheapest to implement. Initiatives that relate to locations may take longer to deliver and be more costly but are likely to deliver reductions which are sustainable and be justified where vehicle crime is higher. Initiatives that relate to tackling offenders and those at risk of offending are likely to deliver reductions quickly but these may be difficult to sustain if police priorities change. Early ‘up-stream' interventions with young school children are useful to build for the future but will not have an immediate effect.

ANALYSIS OF THE NATURE OF THE LOCAL VEHICLE CRIME PROBLEM

The starting point is to define vehicle crime. The British Crime Survey (BCS) defines vehicle crime as thefts of and from vehicles and comprises the following offences: theft of a motor vehicle, unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle, vehicle interference and tampering, aggravated vehicle taking and theft from a vehicle. Information about national vehicle crime trends can be found on the Home Office website, Home Office Statistical Bulletin.

The Home Office also produces information about thefts of cars and motorcycles broken down by make and model:

• Car Theft Index 2004
• Bike Theft Index 2005
• The Extent of Motorcycle Theft

Problem analysis is about understanding what problem you are trying to solve. It is useful to break down the definition of the problem into victims/targets, location and offender (see table).

Next, identify reasons as to why these problems exist. What is the problem with particular locations? Why do offences occur at particular times? Why are certain victims vulnerable to vehicle crime? What is leading offenders to commit crimes against vehicles?

Once some working ideas are formulated you can begin to consider which interventions might have most impact and then produce some objectives and targets.

PROBLEM ANALYSIS

Victims/Targets	Who are the victims? Is repeat victimisation a significant problem? What is being stolen - vehicle or contents? What vehicles and whats contents? When are offences committed? What are the trends in terms of seasonal variations and daily or weekly cycles?
Location	Where are the hotspots? When do most crimes occur in these areas? What are the trends in terms of seasonal variations and daily or weekly cycles?
Offender	Profile of the types of individuals who are committing these crimes. Are they local or do they travel to commit the crime?

INITIATIVES RELEVANT TO VICTIMS AND POTENTIAL VICTIMS

Crime prevention advice empowers motorists to take simple steps that will help prevent them becoming victims of crime. Full information can be found at Secure Your Motor. Alongside police/partnership activity, it is always worth suggesting CDRPs run local publicity campaigns. The main messages CDRPs might consider spreading locally include:

• Don't leave anything in cars, particularly whatever "hot product" that thieves may be targeting such as SatNavs. And make a particular point about getting this message across to motorists which your analysis shows are most vulnerable. For example, this might include those attending business meetings at hotels and conference centres if your analysis shows these are crime hotspots.
   
• Fitting an electronic immobiliser or a mechanical one such as a steering wheel lock where owners of older cars feel unable to justify the higher cost of an electronic immobiliser. And target advice at owners of cars shown to be most at risk of theft in the Home Office Car Theft Index.
  
• Park in a car park which meets the standards of the police Safer Parking Scheme shown by the Park Mark® logo.

Actions CDRPs should consider taking include:

• Using the Excel table "ready reckoner" to help decide whether there is a cost benefit case for them to subsidise the fitting of mechanical immobilisers.
  
• Encouraging car park operators to join the Safer Parking Scheme and providing information to motorists on the relative safety of car parks. Where these involve "naming and shaming" car parks with high levels of crime they must take full account of Home Office advice provided to Regional Directors.
  
• Reviewing the provision of ground anchors to provide secure on-street parking for motorbikes, scooters and bicycles particularly in areas which your analysis shows are hotspots and use local publicity to encourage their use.
  
• Participating in a Home Office funded initiative where the registered keepers of cars seen by local authority parking attendants or street wardens with items left on view inside are sent crime prevention advice by DVLA. Full details of the initiative can be obtained from Steve Kirk in the Home Office Vehicle Crime Reduction Team 020-7035 1432 or by e-mail, steve.kirk@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
  
• Promoting the community resource pack which is available to help community groups to run their own vehicle crime reduction campaigns. This includes responding positively to requests for modest funding that community groups might make to cover their costs. The pack How to run your own campaign to reduce vehicle crime is available to download. Hard copies, which include a CD-Rom, are available free of charge from the Tenant Participation Advisory Service (TPAS) by telephoning 07970 747361 or by e-mailing info@tpas.org.uk

INITIATIVES RELEVANT TO IMPROVING LOCATIONS

Implementing environmental/situational changes can impact on a range of crime types, including vehicle crime. Detailed practical advice can be found in the DCLG "Safer Places" report.

Initiatives worth considering include:

• car and truck parks achieving the standards of the police Safer Parking Scheme
  
• environmental clean-up of an area
  
•  improve street lighting
  
•  improve lines of sight/assist natural surveillance in public and communal spaces where vehicles tend to be parked
  
•  engage with the local community to improve mutual guardianship of vehicles
  
•  install CCTV (fixed site or redeployable) and accompanying support systems

INITIATIVES RELEVANT TO TACKLING OFFENDERS AND THOSE AT RISK OF OFFENDING

Target resources at those individuals most at risk of offending, and at those areas most at risk of vehicle crime. The 2003 Offending, Crime and Justice Survey HORS 275 shows that vehicle crime is most often committed by 14-19 year olds and you might focus effort on this group. The Youth Justice Board website contains information about diversionary activities and provision of facilities for young people engaged in, or at risk of becoming engaged in, vehicle crime.

Offender related initiatives include:

• Directed patrolling of vehicle crime hotspots
  
• Decoy vehicle ("sting") operations
  
• Publicity directed at offenders, particularly those which publicise police operations before and after they have actually taken place
  
• Ensuring area Prolific and other Priority Offenders scheme impacts on vehicle criminals and levels of vehicle crime.

Use the tools provided by asset recovery legislation to "Catch, Convict and Confiscate" the assets of those involved in vehicle crime. Ensure forces have invested sufficient resources in financial investigators so that they can run asset recovery operations; and that police and Crown Prosecution Service are working closely together locally to maximise the opportunities for recovering criminal assets.

SUPPORTING PARTNERSHIP WORKING

Making communities safer is the result of actions by a wide range of partners - statutory agencies and others - and will be most successfully achieved when actions are joined up where relevant and targeted on problem places, problem people and victims. To do this well CDRPs need to:

• have in place an information sharing protocol  so that they understand the vehicle crime problem in their area and its links with other types of crime
  
• have a partnership approach to tackling vehicle crime such as joint action plans that are either area based or specific to vehicle crime
  
• encourage agencies to collect and share information from front-line workers such as neighbourhood wardens, police community support officers and housing officers as well as police
  
• respond quickly to local concerns, including empowering front-line workers to take swift action where appropriate
  
• enable front-line workers to perform a two-way communication role between agencies and local people, including informing local people when action has been taken
  
• Play a key part in Local Area Agreement negotiations to ensure local priorities such as vehicle crime are given adequate resources.

EVALUATION

Evaluation is a vital part of the project planning and management process. A useful tool to help with evaluation is the "Passport to Evaluation".

EXAMPLE OF ACTION PLAN

	Short term or low intensity or limited resources	Medium term or moderate intensity and resources	Longer term, high intensity, greater resources
Victim and potential victim	Communicate vehicle crime prevention advice, particularly to repeat victims and owners of cars/bikes at high risk of theft. Participate in exercise using DVLA to despatch car crime prevention advice. Raise awareness of Park Mark® car parks.	Local media campaigns, including high visibility crime prevention signs in hotspots. Engage local community groups and businesses (eg hotels, tourist offices, motor dealers, retail outlets, driving schools). Crime prevention roadshows in hotspot areas. Crimestoppers campaign.	More intensive use of previous measures. Distribute (free or subsidised) mechanical immobilisers (eg steering wheel locks) to target group. Set up Vehicle Watch/over 25s scheme.
Location	Encourage "capable guardian" activities to take place in hotspots (eg car washing, shopping trolley collection). Promote Safer Parking Scheme to industry in conjunction with British Parking Association	Ensure planning departments are aware of need to design out crime, particularly re new build car parks and housing estates. Environmental/situational changes (eg area clean up, better street lighting, CCTV, ground anchors for motorbikes/scooters, improved lines of sight)	More intensive use of previous measures. Ensure high crime car parks achieve standards of police Safer Parking Scheme.
Offender	Directed patrolling of hotspots, particularly time of day/night when offences occur. Publicity targeted at offenders of police activity before and after operations.	Ensure coordination between statutory agencies that are engaged with victims, offenders/those at risk of offending and hotspots. Use of anti-social behaviour tools and powers. Implementation of Proceeds of Crime Act legislation	Messages to young people in schools and youth clubs explaining the dangers of stealing cars and the sometimes fatal consequences (eg "Impact Roadshow"). Diversionary activities for at risk young people. Targeting prolific offenders. Sting operations - decoy vehicles.

NOTE: The success or failure of crime reduction initiatives depends on context. The same measure, successful in one site, might not work in another. This shows the importance of fully establishing the nature of the problem prior to intervention, considering the appropriateness of any planned response and evaluating any initiative.

Success also depends on accurate identification and continued monitoring of what may be a continually shifting problem. This demands clear leadership, good communication within and between agencies, and comprehensive, user friendly, and regularly updated electronic record systems.

For further information contact Steve Kirk in the Vehicle Crime Reduction Team (Crime Strategy Unit) 020 7035 1432 or by e-mail steve.kirk@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

 

Last update: Tuesday, January 09, 2007