25
Jul
2017
By Calvin at 11:04 GMT, 8 years ago
As part of an ongoing operation called ‘Mya’ Bedfordshire Police recently carried out an inspection of many hundreds of cars parked in areas of the county that had been identified as being more vulnerable to ‘theft from vehicle’ offences. The seven areas focussed upon were: Grovebury, South Lewsey, Marsh Farm, Lewsey, South Town, Putnoe and Marston Moretaine. The inspection was carried out in the week 10 – 16 July and the police were looking for vehicles that had been left unlocked or with their windows open and cars in which property was being displayed.
The inspection found 350 insecure vehicles and since then the police have and are writing to the registered keepers to point out the errors of their ways!
The reason for this action has been a steady increase in the numbers of ‘theft from vehicles’ in the areas identified; a crime that can be very easily prevented.
Sergeant Ben Dimmock from the force’s Crime Reduction Team said: “This many vehicles being left insecure is obviously a concern, and something we will be addressing moving forward. The Crime Reduction Team is now in the process of writing to the registered owner of each vehicle to offer advice about how to keep their vehicle and belongings safe........
“We have seen an upward trend in vehicle crime offences, and we remain committed to reducing this as we are aware of the impact it has on communities. To make things more difficult for criminals I would urge residents to take steps to ensure their vehicles are secure by making sure they are locked, and by removing valuable items.”
Sergeant Dimmock goes on to offer some simple crime prevention advice, which you can read about at the link to this news item below.
COMMENT
Bedfordshire police’s findings come as no surprise to me, but do help to remind us that WE ALL have an important role to play when it comes to preventing crime.
Let me ask you this: Would you dare to put a leather coat, a Sat Nav and £8.50p in change in a glass box and leave it overnight on your front lawn or on the street outside your home and expect it all to be there in the morning?
I think your answer would be a resounding “No”. So why do so many people leave stuff on view in their cars or leave the vehicles unlocked? They are just glass boxes.
I can only come up with a few answers to that question.
- The driver is in a bit of a rush and simply forgets to remove the property from the car or put it (out of sight) in the boot
- The driver is generally untidy in nature and there’s always a plethora of property all over the chairs and foot wells (we’ve all been in cars like this)
- The driver simply doesn’t care or has not considered their own responsibility for reducing the opportunity for crime
That last answer introduces the term ‘opportunity for crime’, which is precisely why Bedfordshire Police have carried out this survey. They know full well that the majority of ‘theft from vehicles’ take place because of the opportunities presented by the victims. Yes, I know it still takes a thief to thieve, but if there’s nothing to steal then the theft can’t and will not take place.
With huge budget cuts and with some crime categories now on the rise again our police service is really up against it.
Please do your bit to remove yourself from the list of unnecessary crime victims.
There’s a long list of ‘unnecessary crimes’, which can be viewed here and if you need some advice about how to prevent stuff being nicked from your car then follow the link below
Reducing theft from vehicles https://thecrimepreventionwebsite.com/vehicle-security/638/reducing-theft-from-vehicles/
Source Bedfordshire Police: http://www.bedfordshire.police.uk/about_us/news/latest_news/2017/170721_-_force_finds_350_insec.aspx
