Vehicle theft more common in London in 2016, says RAC
Vehicle theft has surged over the past three years, with London facing the brunt of the onslaught, amid rising fears that thieves are becoming increasingly "well equipped with technology capable of defeating car manufacturers' anti-theft systems."
According to RAC Insurance, almost 86,000 vehicles were stolen in England and Wales during 2016, up from about 66,000 in 2013.
Almost a third of those thefts, or 26,496, occured in the capital, for a 29% increase on 2013 when 20,565 were stolen.
After London, the region with the highest reported number of vehicles robbed was the West Midlands with the police force there reporting almost 6,000 thefts, for an approximately 43% increase on 2013, and West Yorkshire Police reporting 5,597, a 57% rise when compared to the 2013 figures.
Trailing London, in third position, was Greater Manchester where the police force reported 5,000 stolen vehicles in 2016, followed by Essex in fourth place with 3,623 and Thames Valley Police in fifth with 2,799.
RAC director Mark Godfrey expressed concern regarding the figures.
"Unfortunately, these figures show a very unwelcome rise in the theft of vehicles from much lower numbers in 2013. Technology advances in immobilisers, keys and car alarms had caused the number of vehicle thefts to decrease significantly from more than 300,000 in 2002*** but sadly they have now increased after bottoming out in 2013 and 2014," he said.
Godfrey added that thieves might be getting better at defeating anti-theft systems.
"We fear thieves are now becoming more and more well equipped with technology capable of defeating car manufacturers' anti-theft systems."