Motor Vehicles: Theft

(asked on 19th April 2023) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of car thefts in London; and if she will make a statement.


Answered by
Chris Philp Portrait
Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
This question was answered on 28th April 2023

The Government is committed to tackling vehicle crime and catalytic converter theft.

We are working closely with police and motor manufacturers through the National Vehicle Crime Working Group (NVCWG), chaired by ACC Jennifer Sims, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for vehicle crime, to take forward a programme of work to prevent and reduce theft of and from vehicles. This includes training police officers on methods used to steal vehicles, encouraging vehicle owners to secure their vehicles and working with industry to prevent theft. Through the NVWG a network of vehicle crime specialists has been established, involving every police force in England and Wales, to ensure better sharing of information and intelligence.

The Metropolitan Police Service is represented on the Working Group and the Home Office regularly engages with the NCA on crime related to criminal gangs.

The most recent meeting of the NVCWG took place on 4th May 2023.

The Government is also working closely with the National Infrastructure Crime Reduction Partnership (NICRP) to tackle theft of catalytic converters. The Home Office provided funding in 2021 to set-up the NICRP, the work of which ensures national co-ordination of policing and law enforcement partners to tackle metal theft, providing training, sharing intelligence to target offenders, and implementing crime prevention measures.

Crime Survey data on vehicle theft since 2010 being down 42%. The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of car thefts recorded by the police in England and Wales, including data by London Boroughs.

Police recorded crime and outcomes open data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Table 1 Volume of Police recorded offences for ‘Theft of a motor vehicle’, Outer London Boroughs

Area

2019/20

2020/21

2021/22

Apr to Dec 22

Hounslow

876

792

744

562

Outer London Boroughs

19,305

16,154

17,978

15,472

Reticulating Splines