Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many motorhome thefts have been recorded in each of the last five years; and what assessment her Department has made of trends in motorhome theft in England and Wales.

Vehicle theft, including that of motorhomes, is a truly distressing crime for owners, businesses and industry.

This Government is determined to drive down vehicle crime and we are closely working with the automotive industry and police to ensure our response is as strong as it can be.

We are working closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for vehicle crime, through a National Vehicle Crime Working Group, to take forward a programme of work to drive down vehicle crime, focusing on prevention and deterrence. This includes training police on the methods used to steal vehicles, encouraging vehicle owners to secure their vehicles, and working with industry to address vulnerabilities in vehicles.

Through our Crime and Policing Bill, we have introduced measures to ban electronic devices used to steal vehicles, empowering the police and courts to target the criminals using, manufacturing and supplying them. The Bill also introduces a new power for the police to enter and search premises to which items have been electronically geolocation tracked, and it is not reasonably practicable to obtain a warrant from a court.

The Home Office holds data on the number of offences recorded by the police in England and Wales, including thefts of motor vehicles. However, statistics do not provide the level of detail necessary to separately identify thefts of motorhomes.