Burglaries drive vehicle theft increases

A Freedom of Information (FoI) request to Nottinghamshire Police has revealed that 21.93% of stolen cars are taken in relation to a burglary or robbery.

This equates to over 28,500 vehicles a year nationwide.

The request was made by specialist motor insurance loss adjuster Claims Management & Adjusting.

Philip Swift, managing director of CMA, said: “This discovery, that more than one in five cars are taken with keys acquired by theft, force or threat of force, is important for both consumers and the insurance industry.

“For motorists, it is a reminder that good old-fashioned precautions – like keeping house and car doors locked, hiding keys out of sight, and fitting trackers – are as valid as ever. For insurers, it provides hard evidence that, despite the huge focus on sophisticated keyless techniques like relay attacks, many criminals are still using more rudimentary and opportunistic methods. These range from trying door handles on the off-chance, or swiping keys from a worktop, to targeting certain houses specifically for the cars on the drive, or nastier violent crimes.

“Unfortunately, with ever more constabularies failing to record the vehicle theft modus operandi, quantifying the prevalence of various methods is increasingly difficult.”

The total number of vehicles stolen rose by 25% last year to 130,389, according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS).