Vehicle crime affects many of us and can bring
misery and despair. It certainly causes great inconvenience. The
level of recorded vehicle crime in England and Wales has been
reducing since the mid 1990s but there is no room for complacency.
Theft of and from vehicles still accounts for around 20 per cent of
all recorded crime.
This is why the Prime Minister has set a target
for a 30% reduction in vehicle crime by March 2004. Achieving that
will mean a reduction of around 320,000 offences.
The target is to reduce thefts of and from
vehicles by 30% over 5 years . Vehicle interference and
criminal damage do not form part of the target. That is because a
clear and successful focus on the largest categories of these
vehicle crimes - theft of and from a vehicle - will deliver
the greatest contribution to achieving that target.
To help deliver this:
- the Vehicle Crime Reduction Action Team (VCRAT) was set up in
September 1998. VCRAT published their five year strategy on how
the target could be met http://www.crimereduction.gov.uk/vehiclecrime3.htm
-
under Best Value, police authorities have
been asked to set a target for vehicle crime reduction The
targets set by police authorities in their Best Value
Performance Plan at the end of March 2000 are consistent with
the Prime Minister's target.
-
from April 2001, crime and disorder reduction
partnerships will be asked to set targets for vehicle crime.
Progress towards meeting the vehicle crime targets was independently assessed by the National Audit Office in their report Reducing Vehicle Crime, published January 2005.
These partnerships are at the heart of the
Government's Crime Reduction Strategy. Published in November 1998,
the Strategy sets out the steps to reduce crime and how police,
local authorities, crime and disorder reduction partnerships and
government departments are working together to set challenging but
realistic targets for reducing crime. http://www.crimereduction.gov.uk/crsdoc.htm
This vehicle crime toolkit is one of a series of
22 toolkits designed to help all those involved in crime reduction
to work as effectively as possible. The toolkit brings together
information on the latest developments, research findings and
promising approaches to reducing thefts of and from vehicles. It
includes tools for identifying problems, developing responses and
monitoring progress and highlights practical measures to make
communities safer.
The toolkits are aimed at practitioners and for
practioners. Their effectiveness relies on your input. We very much
welcome contributions on good practice and advice on how to improve
their content and approach. There are details on how you can help at
'Innovation'.
