For the first time, the annual National Vehicle Crime Conference was jointly hosted by Association of Chief Police Officers Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (AVCIS) and International Association of Auto Theft Investigators (IAATI). This two day conference was held at Jaguar Cars Heritage Centre in Coventry and was well attended by law enforcement officers and representatives from insurance organisations, vehicle manufacturers, government departments and private industry.

The aim of the conference was to share ideas and experiences in order to reach a better understanding of the problems and challenges in tackling vehicle and plant theft.

Speakers over the two days were from the 43 UK police forces but also included industry experts highlighting new theft trends, techniques and technology being used by criminals around the world.

Representing SBD was the co-author of “Car crime in the 21st century and the impact of electronic theft methods”, Rob Hare. His presentation was based on the research released in late 2009 that exposed the methods in which criminals are choosing to overcome security devices as well as ways in which Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) can develop systems to combat these global trends. The key points from the rest of the conference were:

• The majority of theft appears to be committed or controlled by Organised Crime Groups. These groups pose the biggest threat and have links with many other crimes including the drugs and arms trade, people smuggling, money laundering and in some cases terrorism.
• Car theft is an international business with stolen vehicles or money often being traced to many countries around the globe.
• Criminals are getting more and more sophisticated in the methods used to steal, re-identify and sell vehicles.
• Methods previously only seen in Eastern Europe are now occurring in Asia, North America and Western Europe including the UK.