Crime Reduction - Helping to Reduce Crime in Your Area

Tackling Vehicle Crime: A Five Year Strategy

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Vehicle Crime Reduction Action Team

ANNEX A

Chairman
Mike Wear	Ford Motor Company
Secretary
Jacquie Howley	Home Office Vehicle Crime Reduction Section
Members
Jo Dagustun	Association of British Insurers
Peter Edwards	Home Office Crime Reduction Delivery Team (Head of Volume Crime and Resources)
David Evans	Retail Motor Industry Federation
Malcolm Fendick	Department for Transport
Trevor Horton	Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
Christopher Macgowan	Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders
Michael McAndrew	Superintendents Association – Metropolitan Police
John McLean	Association of Chief Police Officers (Scotland) – Strathclyde Police
Alistair Manson	Retail Motor Industry Federation
Bert Morris	Automobile Association
Nick Nolan	Local Government Association - Coventry City Council
Ken Pease	Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate
Colin Petter	Home Office Vehicle Crime Reduction Section
Bob Quick	Association of Chief Police Officers – Surrey Police
Dennis Roberts	Department for Transport
John Rowell	Scottish Executive

 

The vehicle crime reduction action team task groups

DVLA issues and secure number plates
Chairman: Mr Dennis Roberts	Director, Road Transport Directorate, Department for Transport
Secured Car Parks
Chairman: DCC Bob Quick	Surrey Police
Parts Marking
Chairman: Mr Christopher Macgowan	Chief Executive, Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders
New Car Security
Chairman: Mr Malcolm Fendick	Head of Vehicle Standards and Engineering Division, Department for Transport
Enhanced Vehicle Crime Data
Chairman: Mr Colin Petter	Head of Vehicle Crime Reduction Section, Home Office
Publicity/Media
Chairman: Mr Mike Wear	Director of Fleet Operations, Ford Motor Company
Information Systems Task Group
Chairman: Tom Lloyd QPM	DCC Cambridgeshire Constabulary
Motorcycle Theft Action Group
Chairman: Mr Frank Finch	Director, Retail Motor Industry Federation
Powered Two Wheelers
Chairman: Mr Geoff Sherley	Chief Executive, Motor Cycle Industry Association Ltd
Plant Theft Action Group
Chairman: Mr Kevin Clancy	Joint Managing Director, Clancy Docwra
Joint Action Group on Lorry Theft
Chairman: Mr Bob Quick	DCC, Surrey Police
Leisure Sector Theft Action Group
Chairman: Mr Alan Bishop	Director General, National Caravan Council Ltd

ANNEX B

The "14 Point" Action Plan to reduce vehicle crime

1. To promote the ACPO Secured Car Park scheme.

Issue: Theft of and from vehicles (around 120,000 and 200,000 respectively per year); the fear/perception of crime and criminal damage to vehicles. The aim is to achieve 2,000 Award car parks by the end of the year 2000.

2. To develop the DVLA contribution to reducing vehicle crime.

Issue: Vehicle ringing and cloning; improve checks for buyers of used vehicles; assist police with road traffic enforcement; mileage clocking; improve effectiveness of ANPR by having more up to date vehicle keeper records/access to insurance data and computerised MOT data.

3. To improve vehicle perimeter security (door locks and glazing).

Issue: Theft of and from vehicles made easier by allowing thief access to the cabin space.

4. To develop EC standards for window etching and visible VIN.

Issue: Visible VIN (vehicle identification number) is an aid to police officers, allowing them to carry out vehicle identification checks without the need to have cause to search the vehicle. Also deters ringers. The visible VIN needs to be in a standard format and in a common position on every vehicle to maximise this benefit.

5. To develop standards for marking the main vehicle component parts.

Issue: Unmarked component parts make it easier for ringers to hide the true identity of a vehicle and make it more difficult/impossible for the police to determine the identity of a "donor" vehicle.

6. To regulate the motor salvage industry.

Issue: Unscrupulous elements of the motor salvage industry provide the identities of wrecked vehicles for ringers, as well as facilitating the trade in stolen parts. The industry is not regulated by law (unlike the scrap metal industry), except for the disposal of hazardous waste.

7. To improve used vehicle security.

Issue: Used cars are much more susceptible to theft because of the levels of security employed. Targeted by opportunists for "joy riding" and to supply the lucrative spare parts market. A 12-year old car is 14 times more likely to be stolen than a new car.

8. To improve the security of number plates.

Issue: All vehicle ringing requires a change of number plates but there is no regulation on who can supply plates, and no identity ownership checks required before a set of plates is supplied. In addition, the practice of altering the spacing and fonts on number plates makes it more difficult/impossible for ANPR cameras to read the plates.

9. To develop improved vehicle crime data.

Issue: Insufficient, inaccurate and incomplete vehicle theft and recovery data; inconsistent crime recording between forces; incomplete historical records of vehicle theft data.

10. To consider having vehicles inspected before they are given insurance.

Issue: Primarily vehicle insurance fraud, where the owner insures a previously damaged vehicle as in good condition and then makes a fraudulent claim to have the damage repaired. If the vehicle had to be inspected before it was insured then other checks could be made including owner/insurer identification.

11. To put controls on the export of motor vehicles.

Issue: Stolen vehicles being exported from the UK, either in containers or via the Channel Tunnel or ferries to the European mainland. There is currently no requirement to show full details on shipping documents for container transport.

12. To consider opportunities for external funding for vehicle crime reduction initiatives.

Issue: Insufficient police resources trained in vehicle crime techniques to work on, or form specialist stolen vehicle squads, or simply to set up specific vehicle crime investigations. ("Michigan" initiative in the US – levy on insurance policies; Operation Pimpernel in Merseyside – funding from the Finance & Leasing Association)

13. To make it mandatory for drivers to carry their vehicle documents.

Issue: There is no requirement for drivers to carry their documents – driving licence, insurance certificate and MOT. Present arrangements, whereby drivers are required to present their documents to the nearest police station are both cumbersome and expensive for the police to operate.

14. To develop police best practice models.

Issue: Many police officers openly acknowledge that forces are bad at sharing knowledge. At best this leads to ‘re-inventing the wheel’ and at worst vehicle crime reduction techniques and initiatives are simply not utilised at all.

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Last update: September 2003