Vehicle thefts in England and Wales are rising.

According to the Home Office, they exceeded 101,000 in 2021. This is more than twice those published by the DVLA earlier this year.

Furthermore, less than 28% of stolen vehicles were ever recovered in 2021, compared to 80% in 2006.

On the up

According to Tracker Network UK, car owners and fleet managers need to take more considered action to prevent theft. They claim that their tracker system produces a 95% recovery rate of stolen vehicles.

With the cost of living crises and squeezed budgets, the fear is that local as well as national crime rates will rise further.

Protecting against vehicle theft also has the knock-on effect keeping insurance premiums lower too. This comes along with avoiding the inconvenience of no car and replacing other goods stolen with the vehicle.

Tracker’s own analysis of theft and recovery data supports the trend for a rise in thefts. They have witnessed a 13% increase in claims compared to the same period in 2021.

The best for the bold

Premium marques like Range Rovers and Land Rover account for the top models stolen. They remain a very real target for thefts because of high returns nationally and internationally.

“Organised crime gangs are very astute, keeping pace with developing security technologies,” says Clive Wain, head of police liaison at Tracker.

Their data reveals “keyless car theft accounted for 94% of stolen vehicle’s”. This is up from  92% the previous year and a new record.

“Businesses risk days or weeks of lost work and revenue,” adds Wain. “Not to mention the loss of costly vehicle contents which can often represent the driver’s livelihood.