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In 2000, over 35,000 motorcycles (includes scooters, mopeds and motorbikes) were recorded stolen on the Police National Computer (PNC) in England, Scotland and Wales. These papers provides an analysis of these thefts and suggests ways in which manufacturers, motorcyclists and the police can reduce motorcycle theft.

Title: An analysis of the extent of motorcycle theft in 2000
Author: Greg Braun
Series: Home Office Online Report 20/03 & Home Office Findings 193
Number of pages: 13 (OLR) & 6 (Findings)
Date published: April 2003

Key points

• In 2000, an estimated 25 motorcycles were stolen for every 1,000 registered with the DVLA.

• Mopeds and scooters are at much greater risk of being stolen than motorbikes – they made up just 26% of the total of motorcycles registered but accounted for 56% of all thefts. The theft rate for mopeds and scooters was 53 per 1,000 registered compared with 15 per 1,000 motorbikes registered. Generally, low capacity motorbikes were also shown to have a high risk of theft.

• Age of motorcycles is also relevant – those first registered in 1999 (i.e. were one-year-old) faced the greatest risk of being stolen, with a theft rate of 39 per 1,000 registered. This contrasts with car theft in 2000 which peaked for vehicles registered in 1987 and 1988 (12- and 13 years old) in the same year.

• In the ten police forces with the highest motorcycle theft rates showed mopeds and scooters made up on average 71% of all motorcycles stolen. This compares to 56% in the ten police forces with the lowest rate of motorcycle theft.

• The recovery rate for motorcycles was 32% in 2000 compared to 65% for cars. Split by type, 26% of motorbikes were recovered while mopeds and scooters had a slightly higher rate of 37%.

Numbers stolen and theft rates

Between 1 Jan 2000 and 31 December 2000, there were 1,158,454 motorcycles registered on the road in England, Wales and Scotland. Over this period, it was estimated from the PNC that 36,822 (3.2%) motorcycles were stolen. This was the equivalent of one motorcycle stolen for every 40 on the road – almost twice the theft rate of cars which was one car in 77.

The results presented in these reports relate to the estimated 28,957 thefts where records of stolen motorcycles on the PNC could be matched (using the vehicle registration mark) to records of licensed motorcycles held by the DVLA. The DVLA information is needed to identify the type, engine capacity and age of each motorcycle.

Recovery rates

Statistics on recovery rates for motorcycles show that the chances of having a stolen motorcycle recovered are very low, compared to the rates for stolen cars. The recovery rate for motorcycles in England, Scotland and Wales was 32% in 2000 compared to 65% for cars. The cost of spare parts for motorcycles is very high and may be a reason for the very low recovery rates, as stolen vehicles may be broken up for parts. Furthermore, anecdotal evidence suggests that low recovery rates of, in particular, high-capacity bikes may be due to organised criminal activity. The work of the Organised Vehicle Crime Section within the National Criminal Intelligence Service is a positive contribution to dealing with this problem and this is currently being independently evaluated.

Mopeds/scooters had a higher rate of recovery (37%) compared to 26% for motorbikes. Of the motorbike groups, 401–500cc had the highest recovery rate (37%), while motorbikes with an engine capacity >1050cc had the lowest recovery rate at only nine per cent. Bikes of this type usually have a high value in the motorcycle market, which may be one reason for their very low recovery rate. It has also been suggested that bikes of this type are particularly prone to professionally organised crime for parts, export or ringing.

Points for action

Manufacturers

• Improving vehicle security on motorcycles: Due to the very high theft rates associated with many of the bikes on the road, manufacturers should continue to develop and fit high specification security measures such as electronic immobilisers, physical security features and parts marking to all models. This may bring about reductions in theft rates similar to those which cars have enjoyed, which is largely believed to be as a result of the compulsory fitting of electronic immobilisers in 1998. The design process of new motorcycles could also give more consideration to the fitting of security features pre and post manufacture.

• Improving the recording of model codes: Manufacturers should work with the DVLA to review and increase the accuracy of the way in which model and body codes of motorcycles are defined and recorded. This would allow a more detailed breakdown of motorcycles if this exercise were to be repeated annually.

Motorcyclists

• Using vehicle security: Owners of motorcycles should ensure that their vehicles are adequately secured and should if necessary fit and routinely use after-market security devices as recommended by recognised test houses such as Sold Secure or Thatcham.

• Parts marking: By putting security marking on as many parts of a motorcycle as possible will make motorcycles less attractive to opportunistic thieves and will increase the chance of getting the motorcycle back if it is stolen and then recovered.

• High-risk groups: Owners of motorcycles that are at high risk of theft should take extra security precautions. The Bike Theft Index 2002 provides this information.

• Parking: Making use of motorcycle parking provision where available would greatly improve security options with no extra cost to the motorcyclist using them. Wherever possible riders should use spaces that have stands or security loops to secure the vehicle to, but always to something that cannot be moved. Owners should look for secured motorcycle parking spaces in public car parks and make use of the Police approved 'Secured Car Parks' scheme.

The police

• Improve the recording of motorcycle thefts: Police need to continue to improve the recording of motorcycle information when reporting thefts on to the Police National Computer. A particular concern for this study was a significant proportion of thefts that could not be matched against DVLA records. This could be partly due to inaccurate information taken from the PNC. This would also allow better targeting of the motorcycle types that are particularly prone to the highest number and rates of theft.

Download The extent of motorcycle theft in 2000 (Findings, 6 pages) PDF 65Kb

Download An analysis of the extent of motorcycle theft in 2000 (On-line report, 13 pages) PDF 120Kb