The UK’s top police officer investigating vehicle crime is
encouraging drivers to take steps to keep their car safe amid a
rise in criminals exploiting keyless technology.
Provisional figures from the National Police Chiefs’ Council show
a 3.1% increase between May 2021 and June 2021 in vehicle crime.
The bulk of this increase is from keyless theft.
Intelligence shows organised crime gangs are using relay
technology to receive the signal from a key inside a house and
transfer it to a portable device, allowing them to unlock and
drive the car.
National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for Vehicle Crime, Assistant
Chief Constable Jenny Sims, said:
“Car theft is a serious crime that causes significant distress
and upset to owners and police are putting considerable resources
into tackling it and bringing those responsible to justice.
“Whilst the rapid development of technology has dramatically
improved the experience of drivers it has also allowed criminals
to exploit weaknesses in electronic security. We are working
closely with car manufacturers to help them design out crime by
sharing intelligence and equipment seized from criminals. We are
already making substantial progress in this regard.
“I would urge drivers to take simple steps to keep their vehicle
safe like storing your keys in metal tins or protective pouches
that block the devices criminals are using. A return to basics
like making sure your car is locked is worthwhile too. We know
from research that some owners think that cars automatically lock
– they don’t. Always double check before you walk away that it’s
locked.”
Despite the recent small increase in this type of theft overall
theft of, and from, motor vehicles was down by 21% in the latest
ONS crime statistics.
Police have made significant gains against these criminals and
arrests are being made across the UK.
Last week Leicestershire Police
secured the conviction of seven members of an organised crime
gang who were involved in more than 50 keyless thefts involving
vehicles totalling £2.4 million. They were jailed for a total of
more than 30 years.
Earlier this month in Liverpool five
people were sentenced to a total of more than 23 years in prison
after being convicted for a range of offences including the theft
of keyless cars totalling around £2.6 million.
Cheshire Constabulary secured the conviction of a man for several
car and key burglaries and he was sentenced to more than 7 years
imprisonment last week.
Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims added:
“These crime gangs care little for the impact they have on
ordinary people but they should know that police are coming after
them. We are carrying out proactive operations every single week
and as recent results show, they can expect to spend a
significant time in prison when we catch them.”
To prevent theft drivers can take simple steps like double
checking a car is locked, keeping keys out of sight and away from
windows and doors and storing key cards in a metal tin or
security pouch.
There are more tips on how to keep your vehicle safe at police.uk.
Anyone with any information about the theft of cars should
contact police on 101, through the police.uk website or through
Crimestoppers.
