How likely are you to fall victim to car crime? Study reveals the chances of having your motor stolen, vandalised or cloned
There is a one in four chance that you and your car will fall victim to motor crime in the next 12 months.
That’s according to a new investigation by the RAC, which has identified some of the concerning statistics behind the nation’s vehicle crime epidemic.
Based on a study of 2,400 UK motorists, 26 per cent said they had experienced a form of motor crime in the last year.
This includes everything from having their cars stolen, parts removed from their motors, their vehicle broken into and items taken, vandalism, cloning and minor damage.
And the study also identified just how much more vulnerable to crime people living or regularly driving and parking in urban areas are compared to those living in the suburbs or out in the sticks.
Almost half (45 per cent) of drivers in towns and city centres said they have experienced vehicle crime in the past 12 months, compared with just 20 per cent on the outskirts of towns – and only 15 per cent in rural areas.
There is a one in four chance that you and your car will fall victim to motor crime in the next 12 months. This includes everything from having their cars stolen, parts removed from their motors, their vehicle broken into and items taken, vandalism, cloning and minor damage
The survey found that one in five (19 per cent) urban motorists had their vehicle damaged ‘with deliberate scratches and dents’, compared with just 7 per cent in the countryside.
And 13 per cent of drivers in towns and city centres had possessions stolen from their car in the past year, while the figure stood at 2 per cent in rural areas, the survey found.
The analysis also found that a tenth of urban drivers reported vehicle theft, compared with 6 per cent overall.
The RAC said despite the lower incidence of vehicle crime outside towns and cities, rural motorists ‘are equally, if not more, worried about being targeted by thieves and vandals’.
Two in five (39 per cent) of drivers in the countryside said they were worried about their car being vandalised, compared with a third who live in cities and large towns.
Last year, This is Money named the streets where cars are most likely to get stolen or broken into.
A shocking number of motorists told the RAC their car had been stolen or broken into in the previous 12 months as Britain’s motor crime epidemic shows little sign of slowing
Powered with data for every neighbourhood in England, we created an interactive map that allows you to enter a postcode to reveal how many car crimes were logged nearby.
One section in London’s West End, straddling Regent Street, topped the table. Some 564 car crimes were recorded in the year to July – the equivalent of 1.5 per day.
As well as cars being stolen, other crimes that fall under the same umbrella include theft from cars or criminal damage.
Our analysis comes after Office for National Statistics figures showed vehicle thefts have spiralled 74 per cent in a decade.
RAC Insurance spokesperson Simon Williams said the scale of motor crime in the UK is now ‘very worrying’.
He said: ‘Having a vehicle vandalised is both unbelievably annoying and expensive but having one stolen is a horrible violation, incredibly stressful to resolve and inconvenient to cope with, given how important cars are to our daily lives.
‘Every criminal incident like this contributes to the average cost of car insurance, which has already risen in recent years due to the higher costs of parts and labour, and the increasing complexity of modern vehicles.
‘Having to claim on your insurance because of something you’ve accidentally done yourself is one thing, but when it’s because of mindless, deliberate vandalism, it’s beyond frustrating, not least because it will inevitably result in higher future premiums,’ he added.
The survey found that one in five urban motorists had their vehicle damaged ‘with deliberate scratches and dents’ in the 12-month period reviewed, compared with just 7% in the countryside
Almost one in ten respondents to the survey said their car had been damaged by another motorist who drove off without leaving their details. This is deemed a hit and run offence (Section 170 of the Road Traffic Act) and the penalties are significant
In December, the Government reaffirmed its commitment to address the soaring cost of motor insurance.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said efforts would continue to tackle vehicle-related crime and make roads safer, while addressing increasing costs on the motor insurance market.
Thatcham Research chief executive Jonathan Hewett said: ‘Vehicle theft is no longer just opportunistic – it’s increasingly driven by organised criminal gangs using sophisticated methods.
‘Tackling the threat means not only making cars harder to steal, but also disrupting the networks behind high-volume, tech-enabled theft.’
Concerns that motor crime is on the rise will only be elevated by recent reports that police numbers have plummeted under Labour.
Home Office data published this week showed the total number of officers in England and Wales dipped by more than 1,300 – or just under one per cent – in the 12 months to September.
It was equivalent to more than three officers being lost every day.
There were 145,550 police officers measured on a ‘full-time equivalent’ basis at the end of September, down from 146,868 a year earlier.
The total has fallen by 2,200 since peaking at 147,745 under the Conservative government.
Under Labour the number of police community support officers has also fallen by more than 200.
And the number of special constables – unpaid volunteers with the same powers as a regular officer – has dropped by 514 year-on-year, or 8.8 per cent, to just over 5,300.
