May 2025: A Year in Review

Dear Resident

Opportunist Motor Vehicle Thief Imprisoned 

Welcome back to Day 5 of the 2025 Year in Review Series. I hope those who are reading along are finding these Good News stories interesting as we share some positive outcomes which were achieved in the St Albans District last year. The purpose of these messages is also to shine a light on the array of incidents which your local Police deal with on a day-to-day basis. We want the public to feel assured that not only do we focus on crime prevention and education, but we are also committed to carrying out thorough investigations and bringing offenders before the Courts where necessary to prevent further harm coming to our communities. 

On that note, in May 2025, we received a report that a car had been stolen from a residential road in St Albans City Centre. The owner of the vehicle had been unloading items from this vehicle into another vehicle as they were preparing to sell the vehicle. The car had been left with the key in the ignition, unlocked, and momentarily unattended. The owner has then heard a wheel spin sound which turned out to be the vehicle being driven off by an unknown, opportunistic offender. The incident was reported to Police immediately and Police were able to locate the vehicle in The Camp area, identifying occupants within the vehicle. 

The suspect was later arrested for this offence, along with driving whilst disqualified, driving whilst uninsured, two shoplifting offences, and an assault of a retail worker, with all of these offences occurring in St Albans. The suspect was charged and appeared before Hatfield Magistrates’ Court on 31st July 2025. The suspect was ordered to pay compensation to the stores and was handed numerous custodial sentences to be served consecutively. The driver was also disqualified for holding or obtaining a driving licence for 60 months. 

With regard to this unfortunate incident of a motor vehicle being stolen, I just want to remind drivers to not leave their vehicles unattended. This is particularly important at this time of year when vehicles are frozen and need to be defrosted. It can be tempting to let the engine run however this leaves your vehicle vulnerable to be stolen and may be considered an offence under the Road Traffic Act. If it were to be stolen, your insurance would likely be voided due to the vehicle being left insecure, so please remain with your vehicle as it defrosts. If you’re loading or unloading your vehicle (in a car park for example), please ensure your vehicle is locked if you intend to walk away from it. 

Many thanks for reading along. 

Kind Regards,

Fiona