An investigation revealed an increasing number of unsolved vehicle-related crimes, and some investigations into car thefts were closed within 24 hours.
Police failed to arrest any criminals who stole a car in more than 100 neighbourhoods in England and Wales last year, an investigation by the Observer has revealed.
According to figures published on Knowledge. police. uk, an open site about crime and police knowledge, 558 neighborhoods with an average of at least one vehicular crime per week were solved by less than two percent, with one suspect arrested and charged.
In total, around 336,000 vehicle-related offences in England and Wales, including burglaries and burglaries, were closed without the suspect being known – around 85% of all registered vehicle-related offences. In some cases, police shut down investigations into car thefts in less than 24 hours.
The Observer revealed last month that the auto industry warned more than a decade ago that cars fitted with keyless ignition were at risk of increased theft.
Mike Briggs, president of the British branch of the International Association of Car Theft Investigators, said police have the resources to investigate and uncover the existing point of vehicular crimes. He said: “Thieves now have the generation to circumvent security systems and police are on the sidelines. “
He said it was that, under EU law, a vehicle’s software systems are “easily accessible. “He added: “It’s like building a castle and giving the key to the front door. Briggs also said police want more education to stumble upon the complicated generation used in car crimes.
Among the most common tactics are “relay attacks” in which a device is used to extend the signal of a key fob in a homeowner’s home. The signal is then used to start the car. There are also some devices that can mimic the electronic key of some vehicles, open the doors and start the engine.
The figures exclude forces in Greater Manchester, Devon and Cornwall due to problems with police computers.
Of the spaces where vehicular offences were not resolved, Blyth in Bassetlaw, Nottinghamshire, had the rate of breaches, with 126 vehicular offences closed without prosecution in the year to September 2023, or 54 consistent with 1,000 people.
It followed through Courtfield’s dominance in the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea (26 vehicle-related offences per 1,000 people), the villages of Awsworth, Cossall and Trowell in Broxtowe, Nottinghamshire (23 per 1,000 people) and Chichester Central (21 people). Consistent with 1,000 people).
The area with vehicular offences is London’s Westminster West End, with 1,171 (98%) of them not prosecuted.
It was followed by Ladywood in Birmingham (989 vehicle-related offences), Heathrow Villages in west London (913) and West Thurrock and South Stifford in Essex with (797).
While overall auto crimes have particularly declined in recent years, auto thefts are at their highest point in a decade, up more than 50%, from 85,803 cars in the year to March 2012 to 130,270 in the year to March 2023.
Rising auto crimes have also driven higher auto insurance prices. The average premium in the UK hit a record £995 in the last quarter of last year, according to stock comparison Confused. com and insurance broker Willis Towers Watson. .
The Association of British Insurers says it is collaborating with the industry to “understand areas of non-unusual concern”.
AA Insurance Services says a greater police effort is to fight thieves who use high-tech strategies to circumvent security systems.
Executive Director Gus Park suggested police chiefs and crime commissioners expand an action plan and warned that carjacking numbers “risk getting out of control. “The proportion of car thefts that resulted in a rate in the year to September 2023 of just 0. 9% for Metropolitan Police, the lowest rate of any police force in England and Wales.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior said: “We expect the police to take vehicle-related offences seriously and investigate them thoroughly, so that the perpetrators are charged and brought to justice. That’s why we welcome the commitment made by the police in August last year to comply with all lines moderadas. investigación. Se have made progress in the fight against vehicle theft, which has decreased by 18% since 2010.