Keeping Your Car Safe

Car crime reached its peak at the beginning of the 1990's and has been steadily declining since then

. Today's modern vehicles have been designed to stop unauthorized access and make it hard for the car to be stolen. But this has not stopped car thieves who have come up with more devious ways of stealing vehicles. With many older cars it was relatively easy to break in even when it was considered to be locked and secure. A metal wire or rod pushed down pass the window could be used to hook onto the door opening mechanism and push up the lock.

Once inside a thief there were a number of options for starting a basic model vehicle, which could mean that the total amount of time needed to steal a car was only a couple of minutes. Today vehicle crime has expanded from stealing of cars to breaking in to steal the contents such as stereos and satellite navigation systems. In 2008/2009 across the UK there were 1,514,000 vehicles related thefts, which included theft of the car itself, theft from the car and attempted theft. This was a decrease on previous years but shows that this type of crime is still very prevalent. Stealing cars today is a harder business, as it is almost impossible to steal a modern car without obtaining the keys first.

This has led to a rise in home burglaries in which the thief steals the car keys for the desired vehicle. In 2008/2009 in the UK over 19,400 cars were stolen in this way which equates to more that 1600 a month and an increase of more than 19% on the previous year. The types of cars being stolen have also changed, as thieves steal the key for cars which have an average value of more than 10,000 pounds. Breaking in to a house can be more difficult and takes more time, so the desirably of the vehicle tends to be high to mitigate the risk. Thieves have also started targeting car number plates. When a car is stolen the police are aware of the number plate of that car and therefore will be on the look out for it. Thieves therefore steal number plates from different cars to use on the stolen car so it is harder for the police to track.

If you are a victim of number plate theft it is essential that you report it immediately. If not you could start to receive an penalty charge notices for parking and speeding etc, or even be suspected of committing crimes yourself. Thieves are also interested in the contents of a car especially if it contains an expensive stereo or satellite navigation system. If these items are visible it can be tempting to break a window and grab the goods. It is wise therefore to remove these items from the car when you are not using it so they do not attract unwanted attention. If you are worried about your car's security it is a good idea to speak to your motor insurance company to ensure that you have the right level of cover required and that you take the necessary steps to keep the vehicle safe.

Keeping Your Car Safe

By: Rochelle Martinez

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