Car Thefts: Where You’re Most Likely To Lose Your Wheels
A new Freedom of Information request has revealed the areas most plagued by car thefts. Is your city or hometown amongst the most affected areas?
Car Theft Hotspots
ChooseMyCar submitted Freedom of Information requests to police constabularies in 30 of the nation’s most populated towns and cities. It then collated the data to determine the worst, and least, affected areas for car thefts. For purposes of the research it excluded London as a whole, instead breaking it down into boroughs. Scotland, which records crimes differently to England and Wales, was also excluded from the research.
Manchester is the worst affected area outside of London, with a staggering 50.66 crimes per 1,000 vehicles. For perspective, that means of 178,400 registered vehicles in the city 9,037 had been targeted. The city’s woes are even clearer if we consider that Nottingham and Bradford took 2nd and 3rd place with 29.51 and 27.59 per 1,000 vehicles being targeted respectively.
Birmingham didn’t make the top ten cities for car thefts, which may come as a surprise. However, it’s actually the worst affected in the country outside of London. There were a massive 14,758 thefts over the period. But there are far more vehicles on the city’s roads, so crimes per 1,000 vehicles are lower. London, predictably, experiences the most car thefts. But Westminster, Hackney and Tower Hamlets stand out amongst the boroughs. Conversely, Luton, Plymouth and Belfast are the least affected areas. These experience just 4.15, 7.77 and 8.93 thefts per thousand vehicles each.
A Seven-Year High
Motor theft insurance payouts were at a seven-year high at the start of 2019. In fact, there’s a vehicle stolen every five minutes. Less than half of all stolen vehicles are recovered by police forces, too. Precisely why figures are skyrocketing hasn’t yet been established. Some insurers, however, attribute the rise to vulnerabilities in keyless car thefts. This sees tech-savvy thieves use a relay device to effectively reroute signals from keys straight into a car; allowing them to steal the vehicle silently and quickly.
Car manufacturers have been slow to address the problem, but improvements are being made. The models that are most affected by the phenomenon also happen to be some of the most popular. Avoiding keyless thefts is relatively simple. Keys should simply be kept away from the front of a property or in a signal blocker pouch.
The Worst Affected Areas
| City | Crimes per 1,000 vehicles |
| 1. Manchester | 50.66 |
| 2. Nottingham | 29.51 |
| 3. Bradford | 27.59 |
| 4. Wolverhampton | 27.07 |
| 5. Nottingham | 25.97 |
| 6. Liverpool | 25.95 |
| 7. Bolton | 24.86 |
| 8. Coventry | 22.24 |
| 9. Kingston upon Hull | 22.13 |
| 10. Leicester | 21.74 |
The Least Affected Areas
| City | Crimes per 1,000 vehicles |
| 1. Luton | 50.66 |
| 2. Plymouth | 29.51 |
| 3. Belfast | 27.59 |
| 4. Stoke-on-Trent | 27.07 |
| 5. Portsmouth | 25.97 |
| 6. Derby | 25.95 |
| 7. Brighton and Hove | 24.86 |
| 8. Southampton | 22.24 |
| 9. Leeds | 22.13 |
| 10. Birmingham | 21.74 |
Parking At Train Stations? Car Thefts Have TREBLED There – https://autoserve.co.uk/motoring-news/parking-train-stations-car-thefts/
Car Theft Is Becoming Epidemic, Here’s How You Can Protect Your Car – https://autoserveclub.co.uk/blog/car-theft-is-becoming-epidemic-heres-how-you-can-protect-your-car/
