Offender Profile: Disposal of Vehicles and Goods

The ease with which goods can be disposed of has been shown to have a considerable influence on decisions to begin and continue stealing.(Sutton M., Johnston K & Lockwood H, 1998)

Stolen cars are frequently sold through the salvage industry, while state of the art audio equipment often passes through several owners.

In 1998 about 430,000 vehicles were written off by the insurance industry. Of the 120,000 vehicles were estimated to be stolen and not recovered in 1997-98, police estimate that about 65% (78,000) are either "rung" or broken for spare parts. Insurance fraud is thought to account for a further 20% (24,000), some of which end up in the salvage industry and are reported as 'stolen' by the owner.

Source: VCRAT Strategy http://www.crimereduction.gov.uk/vrcat1.htm

See Home Office Research Findings No. 69 Handling Stolen Goods and Study No. 178 Theft: A Market Reduction Approach, details of these studies can be found at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/horspubs1.html

A separate Toolkit on "Illicit Markets" is expected to be produced in the early part of 2001. A link to the site will be made when it is on line.