The UK vehicle crime agency held their annual conference in February at their HQ in Warwickshire. The conference was well attended by law enforcement officers and representatives from insurance and automotive industries. This year there was a strong focus on the role vehicle crime plays as an “enabler” for other more serious crimes across the world.

A international programme of speakers reinforced this message and highlighted the need for action to deal with global crime.

SBD's David Green attended the one day event which consisted of thirteen presentations from a variety of worldwide speakers.

The key points from the conference were:

• Attendees were primarily local police force representatives, but the majority of vehicle manufacturers were also present. The focus of the event was biased more towards apprehending criminals after theft has occurred rather than mechanical and electrical security or theft prevention.
• Fraud is a growing problem in vehicle theft, yet it may not be recorded as theft of a vehicle in crime statistics. This could be giving false impressions of falling vehicle theft when the reality is a change in method.
• Confirmation that theft trends continue to move more towards organised and systematic vehicle theft as opposed to opportunistic thieves.
• Highlighted the role of vehicle theft as an enabler for other crime, such as getaway vehicles or even fund-raising for terrorism. As a side-effect, police are seeing vehicle crime as a “way-in” to solve larger crimes and target bigger criminal groups.