Motor Vehicle Crime

Hello Resident

I hope all is well and we all had a great summer period. I just wanted to reach out in regards to recent concerns around Motor Vehicle crime and in particular Theft of Motor Vehicle offences. We are continuing to see our wards targeted by criminals who are stealing motor vehicles and i wanted to reassure you that we are continuing efforts in order to reduce this. We recently held a vehicle marking event at the Horniman Museum whereby officers provided free SelectaDNA Vehicle Marking kits alongside crime prevention advice and patrols are ongoing in our hotspot area's. There also has been some really positive arrests and disruption recently of offenders linked to motor vehicle crime. The team have recently taken receipt of a mobile vehicle tracking device which is fitted to vehicles and monitored by officers whilst on patrol and when the radio signal is received from a stolen vehicle, the device guides officers to the location to recover the vehicle. This is a great piece of kit provided by TrackerUK in order to continue to disrupt criminality.

I was recently made aware by a resident that they had purchased a Faraday pouch device in order to protect their vehicle, however i just wanted to provide crime prevention advice and also clarify some points in regards to what can be done in order to minimise your vehicle being targeted. Currently the most common vehicle targeted in London is a Toyota RAV4 however this is closely followed by Lexus models and also Toyota C-HR models and also Transit Vans however any model of keyless vehicle is a potential target. Each model of vehicle is stolen by various means such as -;

Relay Theft - Whereby the offenders use a device and an Ariel in order to capture the key signal from the key inside your house. You may have seen videos of this when criminals are holding up an ariel on a driveway of a house.

Canbus attack - This is when the vehicle is targeted using the wheel arch of a vehicle and a device is plugged in to a port within the wheel arch which unlocks the vehicle in seconds and allows the vehicle to be driven away.

In regards to Faraday pouches, it must be reminded that a Faraday pouch or box prevents only relay thefts as it limits the signal of the key being transmitted. The faraday pouch must always be replaced every 2-3 years due to wear and deuteriation over time. Common vehicles stolen by this type of theft are Audi vehicles or Mercedes. A Faraday pouch will not prevent a CANBUS attack theft.

The best protection for your vehicle is a full steering lock that covers the steering wheel in its entirety rather than a single bar lock. Criminals will cut a single bar steering lock off in seconds whereas a full steering lock, such as Disklok wheel locks, provide extra protection and can be often difficult to remove. If you have a driveway, consider the use of bollards or even wheel clamps or even parking another vehicle over your vehicle in order to minimise your vehicle being targeted.

If you have any questions or concerns around motor vehicle crime or anything in particular please remember to send us a message and we will endeavour to respond and address anything you raise. Please remember to also share MetEngage with your friends and neighbours so they can sign up and be up to date with ongoing issues in your area.