Car crime is falling at a wholly unprecedented rate, according to a top Home Office civil servant.
Speaking at the recent National Audit Office Conference on Reducing Vehicle Crime, Home Office Permanent Secretary for Crime and Policing Leigh Lewis said the success had been achieved despite the increased number of vehicles on the road.
Mr Lewis said: “At its peak in 1995 over 4.3 million crimes of theft of or from vehicles took place in England and Wales. By 2004-05 that figure had fallen to 1.9 million despite there being 27 per cent more vehicles on the road than there were then. In 1995 households that owned a car were, on average, likely to become victims of vehicle crime once every five years. Today that figure stands at once every 12 years."
The decrease means that the Home Office has exceeded its target of reducing vehicle theft by 30 per cent between 1998-99 and 2004.
Mr Lewis said: “Better policing, better security in vehicles, better public awareness and better technology have all contributed to these reductions. Of course, we cannot stop here. Every car stolen or broken into is still one car too many and a cause of real distress for its owner. That is why the Government has set a target of reducing volume crime by a further 15 per cent by 2008. Better technology, safer car parks and the use of new technology such as automatic number plate recognition will all have their part to play.
“But let us not underestimate the scale of what we have already achieved. There are now two and half million fewer vehicle crimes than there were in 1995. That is a quite remarkable achievement for which the police, the industry and motorists themselves should take real credit."
