The future of policing vehicle crime appears to be changing rapidly with help from partners and sponsorship agreements, ideas in fact that UK forces would have cringed at just a year or two ago, writes Ken German, a past president of the UK branch of the International Association of Auto Theft Investigators (IAATI).
Ask anyone who deals with the enforcement, prevention and disruption of vehicle crime and they will tell you that their belief in the ability of police to both deal with and control these offences in the future appears pretty uncertain and even with the political promise of an additional 10,000 officers on offer, it still would not elevate car and motorcycle theft from its current low priority position.
Government officials, senior police officers and quite a few of the countries decision makers attending the recent IAATI UK’s National Vehicle Crime Conference in Loughborough were unanimous in expressing their concerns about the dramatic changes in the very dynamics of this particular type of crime epidemic and suggested a re think was required.
One topic more than any other discussed was the continued depletion of police resources and the consequential loss of expertise so important nowadays in dealing with modern vehicle crime. Notwithstanding the current terrorist events that have taken place and the consequential huge demand for officers elsewhere, it was still agreed that the latest vehicle theft figures showed an unacceptable rise as the organised car criminals continue to tighten their grip on technology and fraud.
No comfort then from the current news from around the UK that several adjoining forces, in some cases four constabularies together have had to compromise their vehicle units and agree to deploy just one officer to deal with and examine all motor vehicle thefts often within an estimated 250 mile radius.
Other subjects discussed at this rather unique conference was the continued availability of advanced technical equipment that offers access and alteration to vehicle electronics, new gadgets that compromise a vehicles OBD systems, portable high powered disc cutters, endoscope invasion allowing exploratory access to the contents of vans and HGVs and worryingly the sheer speed of thefts when these vehicles were left unattended for just a short time. Ironically a huge amount is now recorded on social media sites for all to see and the lack of any officers available to deal with these clearly organised crimes seemed to be the question.
Evidence that even minor league thieves operating as ‘local’ gangs often using motor scooters particularly in the London area now work alongside hard line organised criminals in stealing high value cars and commercial vehicles including their contents explained both the hierarchy seen in drugs gangs and the extraordinary hike in both theft of and theft from figures.
Indeed assets of all kinds stripped from vans and HGVs has now become a serious issue in itself with many stories of dealerships and private contractors losing their livelihood because of multiple attacks by these gangsters, some two and three times in one month, resulting in the consequential rise in their insurance premiums or in some cases no insurance available at all.
The news that more motorcycles and scooters are now being stolen than are sold here in the UK was undeniably a shock and the blame for this was again attributable to the gangs of young scooter riders some as young as 12 years of age who with their peers appear to commit most of the violent robberies and burglaries that occur particularly in and around the Capital where certainly more than half of all UK’s power two wheeled crime is now recorded.
The media reports almost daily on police numbers and many constabularies have been left with no option other than to review their controversial no chase ruling and to form their own task force (maybe just one or two officers) that will focus on the violent thugs and the acquisitive crimes they commit in their own force areas. In London, the Met have thrown everything they have to address their problem with Operation Venice and whilst it has achieved remarkable success, there appears to be, as one officer explained, literally thousands of them and simply not enough of us!
There are thankfully some success stories too in the fight against vehicle crime and one is the rise in popularity of the Tracking Device which has over the last 12 months or so seen companies posting as much as a 90 per cent recovery rate. According to officers on the ground this technology clearly makes their work much easier particularly as many tracking companies now have their own efficient back up teams and support systems.
Improvements in the reduction in size of these devices together with longer battery lives and general ease of use not to mention affordability has clearly been accepted by the paranoid consumer both as a must have necessity and a comfort to what is now sadly an occurrence that they realise is more likely to happen to them than not!
Another huge success story has been the new invisible or covert DNA markings which although are invisible to the naked eye can positively identify an owner or his vehicle. Again the police have found great comfort in obtaining both the identification and true provenance of stolen vehicles that have had their serial numbers removed. These systems have become so successful they have taken on the mantle of a theft deterrent forcing many thieves to find non-marked vehicles to steal for fear of being found in possession of stolen property. Figures for both plant equipment and motorcycles that have been so marked have shown a distinct decline in theft whilst non-marked items have risen at a corresponding level.
With the lack of police officers allocated to vehicle crime the future will clearly have to be one of both partners and sponsorships if autocrime is to be controlled and surprisingly it already has albeit covertly behind the scenes been working both successfully and efficiently supporting officers in their duties.
Insurance company investigation units for example are already on a par with the police in relation to the knowledge and expertise required in vehicle crime investigation. No doubt they will in the future take on a more proactive role in their own research and prosecution procedures in dealing with theft and fraud, clearly a move that would satisfy both parties. Their successful efforts in eradicating the Crash and Cash phenomenon have been remarkable and it adds substance to this already proven partnership.
Indeed many forces now rely heavily on insurance company support to deal with not only their crime prevention activities but even their crime operations which in some cases would not have occurred without insurance support. Banks and credit companies too are following suit with their professional investigation units and hire and rental companies who have been badly targeted in the past and who remain a major target for the fraudsters have instigated their own active investigation teams and crime support units.
Vehicle manufacturers have seen the benefit of employing usually retired police officers as proven experienced investigators capable of liaising with the police and dealing with most enquiries affecting theft and fraud. Most are members of the SMMT who clearly have shown that they have the experience necessary to deal with technology issues quickly and efficiently.
Contractors working in vehicle repatriation have also seen a huge demand for their work in assisting the police with their expertise recovery procedures particularly from overseas and are on call 24-7 with their support for the police. Forensic laboratories and their expert technicians dealing with intricate identification and the provenance of classic and motorcycles worth many thousands of pounds have proved their worth in court as have locksmiths, vehicle data checking companies, plant, caravan and leisure goods manufacturers who all have back up and support teams that can support the police in its fight against vehicle crime.
There are many companies and individuals gainfully employed in the UK dealing with the enforcement, prevention and disruption of vehicle crime and they need to be recognised for their knowledge much of which is being offered freely to the police. The priorities of today’s policing are those that we all recognise and I am convinced that any partnerships that can be created will clearly play a part in the future battle against the car criminal.
