Organised criminal gangs are driving a surge of vehicle theft in the UK. Vehicle theft is no longer a low-level, opportunistic crime, but rather a high-value, low-risk form of serious and organised crime with domestic and international dimensions, according to a paper published by the defence and security think-tank the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).
Its trio of authors says that vehicle theft in the UK has risen by 75 per cent in the past decade to about 130,000 vehicles a year, driven by increasingly sophisticated organised crime groups (OCGs), which are exploiting technologies, using well-established international routes to smuggle stolen cars out of the country, and taking advantage of an insufficient police and systemic response. For the full read, visit https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/occasional-papers/organised-vehicle-theft-uk.
The research, Organised Vehicle Theft in the UK: Trends and Challenges, by Elijah Glantz, Mark Williams and Alastair Greig, says vehicle theft now costs the UK economy about £1.77 billion a year and has driven an 82 per cent increase in car insurance premium quotes since 2021.
The research says vehicle manufacturers face a rapidly moving technological ‘arms race’ against increasingly sophisticated criminal enterprises. Drawing on interviews with dozens of UK and European experts, police officers, engineers, and vehicle industry leaders, it documents the rapid evolution of vehicle crime from opportunistic thefts to high-tech, internationally linked operations. The report recommends urgent policy and enforcement reforms to counter the evolving threat, including bolstering the National Vehicle Crime Reduction Partnership (NVRCP).
Findings
Vehicle Theft is Increasingly Sophisticated and Organised. Criminal gangs are increasingly exploiting vulnerabilities in vehicle software and electronic components, devising and employing sophisticated specialist devices and methods to bypass vehicle security features. The report says: “Although prices vary, devices targeting higher-end vehicles can sell for more than £20,000…and the rapid rate of criminal innovation indicates a significant level of Research & Development investment.”
Vehicle Theft Markets Are Global and Highly Lucrative. The report describes the almost uninterrupted flow of stolen vehicles from UK ports to international hub markets including the UAE, Cyprus, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and notes that vehicles are often stolen, loaded and taken out of the UK within a day. “The speed at which vehicles can be taken, their identities masked or changed and subsequently sold – whether as a whole or in parts – speaks to a more streamlined criminal landscape.”
Law Enforcement Response is Under-Resourced and Fragmented. The report says that given the UK’s fiscal and police budgetary constraints, public funding commensurate to the threat is unlikely to be available. The charge rate for vehicle theft offences has fallen to just 2.6pc in 2023/24 from 9.2pc in 2013/14. Noting dwindling police resources, the report says: “Vehicle crime-specific units and specialists have been affected, with forces collapsing their vehicle theft investigative units. The Metropolitan Police, which once possessed an almost triple digit vehicle-crime investigative team, has seen it dwindle to only a handful of officers.”
Manufacturers are Locked in a Technology Arms Race with Criminals. When manufacturers produce security updates, criminals adapt very quickly. The report notes: “Certain innovations in vehicle theft – with ‘phenomenal capability’ – emerged more swiftly than anticipated.” While tech-enabled thefts largely target higher-value vehicles, OCGs also engage broadly in identity and document fraud, securing leases or loans on desired vehicles, altering a car’s identity and reselling the vehicle abroad or domestically. ‘Conventional’ means of vehicle theft, including stealing unlocked cars or car key burglary, continue.
Recommendations
Improve National Intelligence and Coordination. The report recommends a national body, such as the recently established National Vehicle Crime Reduction Partnership, be supported to help promote intelligence sharing and coordinate “responsiveness across all industry to, and anticipation of, novel theft methods as and before they emerge.” The report says this is “key to sustainably decreasing the number of thefts”. A coordinated, multi-agency intelligence hub is urgently needed to map OCG structures, methods, and financial flows.
Explore and Secure Sources of Funding. Without access to increased government funding, more positive outcomes through law enforcement are unlikely. Drawing on industry funding and recovery charges, is one option. In the United States, Auto Theft Prevention Authorities (ATPAs) are financed through a minor (£1 to £4) annual surcharge on each car insurance policy, and funds can be deployed to coordinate specific activities, operations, prosecutions and prevention campaigns related to vehicle crime.
Improve Legal and Regulatory Frameworks. The rate of criminal innovation threatens manufacturers’ ability to sustain a technological edge. Academics and industry have long indicated loopholes, including in Right to Repair legislation which was designed to open up the vehicle repair market, should be re-evaluated to prevent it being further exploited to accelerate “the pace at which new theft devices become available”.
Conclusion
The report warns that vehicle theft in the UK is no longer a petty opportunistic crime but a dynamic and profitable form of serious and organised crime that crosses borders, exploits loopholes, and undermines public trust in the criminal justice system. A national response that is both agile and transnational must evolve to meet a threat. As the report concludes: “The criminal vehicle theft economy is far more resilient than the public and private systems meant to stop it.”
About the authors
Elijah Glantz is a Research Fellow for the Organised Crime and Policing Team (OCP) at RUSI. His research there covers criminal networks structures, illicit finance and law enforcement responses. Mark Williams is Programme Manager for the OCP team at RUSI, and Alastair Greig is a research analyst in the team.
