The five easiest items to steal from your car… according to the crooks who take them: How theft from vehicles is a £100M business in UK – how bad is YOUR area?
Convicted thieves have revealed which things are most easily stolen from cars.
The value of car thefts over the past two years was £109m, with the average victim losing £618 worth of property.
Last year alone, there were the equivalent of 540 car thefts per day.
Number plates, catalytic converters, car electronics, bike racks and roof boxes are the five most common things stolen from cars.
MailOnline can also reveal the UK’s car crime hotspots.
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Number plates, catalytic converters, car electronics, bike racks and roof boxes are the top five things stolen from cars
London had the highest rate of car thefts per 1,000 residents over the past two years at 14.39.
Close behind was the West Midlands with 10.83 and Greater Manchester with 9.41.
Avon and Somerset saw the biggest year-on-year increase, with reports rising by 48 per cent.
Warwickshire (43 per cent) and Northumbria (34 per cent) saw the second and third biggest increases respectively.
The total value of items stolen from vehicles in 2022 is more than £61 million. This is a 27% increase on the £48m worth of items stolen in 2021.
Convicted thieves told a study by Direct Line and the University of Huddersfield about their experiences of car theft.
One said: “You used to be able to make a good few hundred pounds a day doing it. Especially when I was younger, you had your car stereos with pop-up fronts. We used to get between £60 and £80 for them at a time.
“Then they went out of fashion and then it became satnav. Same again, £60, £80 for them when they first came out. Anything that’s built-in or on your mobile phone.’
Another added: “People don’t learn. They must be stupid. I don’t understand it myself. It amazes me but I know a lad who got £10,000 out of the boot of a car into a safe, came back two nights later and got another £20,000 out of the boot!
London had the highest rate of car thefts per 1,000 residents over the past two years at 14.39
“My friends have had £8,000, £9,000. I ran out of £2000 and £3000 cars and they were all open.
A third said it was mainly about them seeing the opportunity. They said: “Thefts from vehicles probably happen just as much as people taking vehicles.
“That’s only if you can see something in the car through the windows – a laptop, an electrical appliance.”
Another said they always look for unlocked cars.
They said, “I can basically tell if a car is open just by looking at it, ie. are the exterior mirrors removed?
“Can I see a red flashing light on in the car?” A car that is open to me stands like a Christmas tree.
Lorraine Price, Head of Motor Insurance at Direct Line, said: “Having items stolen from your car can be incredibly distressing and embarrassing for the victim.
“While car owners don’t need to take significant precautions to protect their vehicles, there are steps drivers can take to reduce their risk of being targeted.”
She added: “Given how common it is for items to be stolen from vehicles, car owners should, wherever possible, avoid leaving valuables in their vehicles and make sure they understand what is covered by their car insurance policy if this is unavoidable.’
Earlier this year, shocking video captured the moment brazen thieves stole a catalytic converter from an NHS worker’s car in affluent Dulwich Village for the second time in six months.
An NHS worker from Dulwich Village, south-east London, caught the three thieves on video stealing the catalytic converter from her car at around 8.30pm on Thursday after putting her children to bed.
The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, found out about the thieves when she heard a loud noise outside.
The video shows the thieves using a car jack to gain access to the catalytic converter underneath, while a loud grinding noise can be heard from across the street.
The woman said she “opened” the front door and was met by three men dressed all in black and their faces covered by balaclavas.
Video captures the moment thieves were caught stealing a catalytic converter from an NHS worker’s car in Dulwich Village for the second time in six months
She tried to scare off the thieves by shouting at them, but they were undeterred and continued working on the car.
She said: “I thought they might freak out when someone saw them but they just carried on. One of them was high-fiving his friends.
The woman said that her husband chased the thieves and ran after them down the street in an attempt to catch them and recognize their vehicle.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “Police were called at 8.30pm on February 2 to reports of a theft in SE21. Officers arrived and a catalytic converter was reported stolen from a car parked in front of a home.
“Officers took a description of the suspects and conducted a search of the area, but no suspects were identified. They expect CCTV from a nearby property.
“Anyone who sees anything suspicious in the area is asked to call 101 quoting CAD 6937/02 Feb.
“Information can also be shared anonymously with the independent charity Crimestoppers by calling 0800 555 111.”
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