Although Warwickshire Police action has seen car crime dip, it is still a relentless problem with residents losing out financially and emotionally.
ANOTHER week, another family whose world has been turned upside down by car theft.
The outpouring of support for Jake Bourne and his family - whose story is on the cover of this week’s Herald - reflects the high regard in which he’s held but also the very real thought that any of us could be left facing a similar nightmare.
That could be waking up to the sight of an empty spot on the driveway; waking up face-to-face with intruders demanding our keys - or discovering that though the vehicle is still there, there is compelling evidence that someone has been on your property and had a go.
The impact on Jake’s business is obvious but he also describes some of the wider effects of a theft, relevant not just to tradespeople but to all of us.
Some will say as both a generally affluent and principally rural area, Stratford district is a favoured target for those of criminal intent - but while certain cars seem to attract particular attention, the efforts of both organised gangs or the spur-of-the-moment chancers mean few us can feel totally relaxed about the safety of our motors.
Over the years the Herald has reported on some of the many cases - search for our reports on car crime and it’s a long list of articles that is nowhere near the full picture.
Whatever the police - or victims - choose to share with us, the number of incidents is undoubtedly greater. And the fear of theft can be greater still.
It’s not all doom and gloom - in June last year a story headlined, ‘Car crime crackdown offers glimmer of hope’ told of a string of convictions relating to thefts from across the district.
And Chief Inspector Faz Chisty said that though at that point, the figures showed car crime was still on the rise, there was hopeful progress.
He said: “I’m hoping that we will start to see offences plateau especially after our targeted operations.
“We are not relenting, we are keeping a sustained focus on car crime in the Stratford district.”
That cautious optimism last summer would seem to have been justified according to the latest figures released by Warwickshire police, for the year to 20th October, show:
- the number of vehicles stolen has dropped from 191 to 171 - down 8.9 per cent
- the number of thefts from vehicles has gone from 664 to 433 - down 34.8 per cent
- vehicle offences (overall category) shows a fall from 1,069 to 798 - down 25.4 per cent
A police spokesperson said: “This drop can be attributed to a focus in the area of Stratford-upon-Avon on reducing vehicle offences, including encouraging reporting of crimes and suspicious activity from the public and targeted operations related to vehicles.”
But while the statistics are heading in the right direction, they still suggest the equivalent of a vehicle being stolen nearly every other day and more than one theft from a vehicle every day.
The evidence of that in practice can be seen in the police’s own updates.
On Tuesday, 22nd October, for instance, Alcester police reported on a spate of incidents.
The update said: ‘Overnight we had three vehicles stolen from three separate addresses on the Alcester North patch.
‘A BMW X5 was stolen from Sambourne, from Studley, a Mitsubishi 4x4 Pick up truck was stolen and then moving onto Earlswood, where another 4x4 Pick up truck was removed from a driveway.
‘All three happened overnight, early hours of the morning, potentially same offenders who targeted all three vehicles.
‘On the Alcester South patch, there was a garage break over night in Wixford, whereby a motorbike was stolen’.
As last summer’s report showed, some of these cases lead to convictions but victims have a range of issues to deal with in the aftermath of the event.
Looking at the national picture, car crime costs motorists in the UK in a number of ways, including:
- Insurance premiums. On average, a stolen car can add £628 to a motorist's insurance premium.
- Claims. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) reported that over £8 billion was paid out in motor claims last year, which includes theft, personal injury, and property damage.
Warwickshire police offers wide-ranging advice on preventing car and vehicle theft on its website, with a nine-point guide from obvious tactics like locking your vehicle and keeping keys safe - to being alert to carjackers and illegal tow trucks.
