Car thieves are stealing around 350 vehicles a day in the UK, many of which are taken using electronic devices which bypass the keyless fob and can be bought on the internet for as little as £1,000.
In 2022 the number of vehicles stolen was 112,871, up from 89,811 the previous year, a rise of 25 percent.
John Green, a mechanic in the south east of England, explained to The Epoch Times: “When they use their equipment to get the signal it will usually record the signal data for the key remote to the car. The equipment then mimics the remote, fooling the car security systems into thinking it’s a key remote.”
It can take as little as 30 seconds and Tracker’s latest data suggests 93 percent of vehicles which were stolen and recovered were taken without using the owner’s keys.
Mr. Green said: “The manufacturers are working on a solution but as soon as they do the crooks will find another way.”
A source in the criminal justice system has told The Epoch Times some high-end vehicles stolen with relay attacks had been used as getaway cars in murders.
Stolen Cars Ending up in ‘Chop Shops’
Mr. Whittaker said although some vehicles were used as getaway cars—often using cloned number plates which matched a genuine and legitimate vehicle of the same make and colour—a larger proportion were taken to “chop shops,” illicit garages where experts working for organised criminals cut up cars and remove valuable parts or disguise its identity by removing its VIN number.The National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS) said around 356 vehicles were being stolen every day.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) said Range Rovers were the second most popular car with thieves, with 5,200 stolen in 2022 alone.
Mr. Whittaker said: “There have been massive increases in insurance premiums, especially Range Rovers and Jaguar Land Rover, they’re difficult to insure because insurance companies want to protect their assets more and more. I’ve heard horror stories where it’s quite a few thousand pounds to insure a vehicle, certainly in London or other metropolitan areas.”
Law on Jamming Devices ‘Insane’
Mr. Whittaker said: “It’s a bit of a nonsense around jammers because it’s not illegal to buy one, it’s not illegal to possess one, but it’s illegal to use one. But there’s no reason why anybody would have a jammer device other than to commit criminality. It’s insane really.”He said criminals were quite “creative” and “brazen.”
They carry out a process called “soaking” when they steal cars, in which they left them beside the road or parked up somewhere in public for a few days or weeks to see if the police or a tracker company locates them.
If nobody comes and gets the car, the criminals can be fairly confident it is not fitted with a tracker, and they can then take it to a “chop shop” or sell it on.
“It’s definitely now organised crime groups who are responsible for stealing vehicles on quite a big, industrial scale,” said Mr. Whittaker.
He said some specialist car thieves would be paid £250 a time to steal a car and then pass it on to the organised crime group, who would arrange for it to be broken down and then shipped abroad.
Mr. Whittaker said cars used to be much easier to break into and steal in the 1970s and 80s but a lot of vehicle crime “got designed out.”
But he said criminals had caught up and keyless fobs were a particular Achilles heel.
Essex Police Recover Cars Worth £12 Million
Last month Essex Police said its stolen vehicle intelligence unit had recovered £12 million worth of cars this year, including a Rolls Royce Cullinan worth £360,000, along with several Range Rovers and BMWs.The unit said it had dismantled 15 chop shops this year and intercepted 50 shipping containers containing cars and car parts which were ready for export to nefarious and unscrupulous customers.
Officers found vehicles at an industrial estate in Canvey Island which had been stolen from all over the south east of England.
Assistant Chief Constable Jennifer Sims, the National Police Chiefs’ council lead for vehicle crime, said in a statement emailed to The Epoch Times: “We are undertaking significant work to tackle vehicle theft including examining disposal routes for stolen vehicles and taking proactive action with law enforcement as a result.”
Police ‘Proactively Working With Home Office’
Ms. Sims said: “We also engage with vehicle manufacturers on theft prevention and work with the Government to develop ways in which legislation can support us in tackling vehicle theft. We know that the majority of vehicles are stolen with no keys so we are proactively working with the Home Office and government to consider how to stop the sale of items like keyless repeaters and GPS jamming devices which have no legitimate purpose outside of criminal use.”She recommended motorists keep their keyless fobs in Faraday pouches or metal boxes, which block signals.
Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers said in a statement emailed to The Epoch Times, “Car makers take vehicle security extremely seriously, continually rolling out new features—from double locking systems to ultra-wideband technology—to try and stay one step ahead of criminals.
“However, with most car crime still attributable to the unauthorised use of owners’ keys, technology alone cannot put an end to criminal activity,” he added.
“That’s why the sector is working closely with the police, insurance industry and other security stakeholders and calling for the prevention of sale of devices which have no legal purpose but are used by criminals to steal cars,” said Mr. Hawes.
In a foreword to the consultation, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: “Protecting the public is my highest priority. I am absolutely committed to equipping our law enforcement agencies with the tools and legal powers they need to tackle serious and organised crime and to stay ahead of the most resourceful and relentless criminals currently operating in the UK.”
But signal amplifiers and jamming devices used by organised criminals to steal cars were not included on the list.
