Risk Profile: Location
Risks vary significantly around the country. The recorded crime
statistics for the year ended March 2000 http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs/hosb1200.pdf
show:
-
thefts of vehicles in partnership areas (excluding City of
London and Scilly Isles) ranged from 1.22 per 1,000 population
in one area to 23.1 per 1,000 population in another.
-
thefts from vehicles in partnership areas (excluding City of
London and Scilly Isles) ranged from 1.9 per 1,000 population in
one area to 34.1 per 1,000 head of population in another.
-
areas with high rates of vehicle crime may not necessarily
have both high rates of theft of and from vehicles.
-
large built up areas generally experience the highest vehicle
crime, and rural areas the lowest, but there are exceptions.
Certain locations are more vulnerable to crime.
BCS 2000 ( http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/bcs1.html)
shows that:
- nearly two-thirds (64%) of all vehicle crime happened when the
vehicles were parked in the vicinity of the victim's home.
- 36% of incidents took place on the street outside the victim's
home
- 26% occurred in semi-private parking areas, such as drives
- 17% of all vehicle-related crime took place in public car
parks, with 40% of daytime thefts taking place in public car
parks
Different parking locations provide different
elements of risk. For example, most cars are parked for longer
periods at the owner's home. That is why most thefts occur at that
location.
The table below sets out the relative
risks in the various locations taking into account the level of
exposure. This shows that cars in public car parks where four times
more at risk than when parked in the street outside the owner's home
or place of work and 40% more at risk when parked in some other
street.
Risk of Auto Theft by Parking Location in England and Wales per
24-hour period
|
Location
|
Thefts per 100,000 cars per 24 hours
|
|
Home garage
|
2
|
|
Home carport/drive
|
40
|
|
Home street
|
117
|
|
Housing estate garage
|
[38]
|
|
Housing estate parking area
|
[101]
|
|
Work garage
|
[48]
|
|
Work street
|
118
|
|
Work car park
|
37
|
|
Work other
|
62
|
|
Other street
|
327
|
|
Public car park
|
454
|
|
Other
|
143
|
Source: Clarke & Mayhew (1998)
Figures in square brackets are based on small numbers of
people parking in these locations.
The table below provides thefts by location over a 12-month
period. Unlike the table above, this does not take into account the
level of exposure the vehicle has i.e. the amount of time vehicles
may have been in each location
Theft by Location in 1997
|
Home garage
|
1%
|
|
Street by work
|
1%
|
|
Workplace car park
|
5%
|
|
General street parking
|
14%
|
|
Public car park
|
19%
|
|
Semi-private car park *
|
22%
|
|
Street by home
|
36%
|
* Driveway/row of garages/car parking at home (e.g. estate car
park).
Source: BCS 1998
|
