Car theft and motorbike theft have been rising sharply in our county in recent months. This has been fuelled by international supply shortages, the rise in scrap values and in new vehicle costs and delivery times, and in the vulnerability of passive keyless entry. It is happening across the country, and it is bad here in Essex. We must make dealing with this surge a priority.

To prevent vehicle crime (theft of and theft from motor vehicles), Essex Police teams identify hot spot areas for these crimes and complete patrols of these areas. The force has recently created ‘Operation Dance’ for vehicle crime, which is based on recent crime pattern analysis. This operation focuses officers’ activity within all identified hotspot areas and repeat locations/streets identified, especially during any associated peak days and times. They have also set up ‘Operation Ignition’ to focus on intervention, disruption, prevention and detection of the organised crime gangs behind this. They work alongside the National Vehicle Crime Investigation Service.

The Stolen Vehicle Intelligence Unit (SVIU) at Essex Police has last year recovered or identified more than a record 626 stolen vehicles or parts of stolen vehicles, a 30% increase on 2021, with an estimated value of £14m. The team frequently seize stolen cars within hours of them being taken, examine them, and use this intelligence to hunt down other missing vehicles. Last year two officers from the team were presented with awards by the International Association of Auto Theft Investigators for their ‘outstanding contribution in the fight against vehicle crime’.

The team also work on many investigations into chop shops – the places where stolen cars are stripped of their parts – and are supported by analysts who study the thefts to look for patterns of offending. They investigated 34 chop shops last year. One example of their achievements was when they searched a shipping container that was heading to Dubai from the London Gateway Port in Thurrock and found a Rolls Royce Dawn inside that had been stolen. The missing car had recently cost its owner £350,000 and had been stashed alongside parts of eight stolen Range Rovers.

The team can be followed on their dedicated Twitter page (@EP_SVIU) which features appeals and crime prevention advice. 

I recently met with Jaguar LandRover at their Coventry plant to discuss how they can better protect their vehicles. They are spending £15m on retrofitting improved security to their older models, as well as ensuring their new cars are protected from theft.

Essex Police is having success in tackling vehicle crime and below are just three examples of recent successes that demonstrate the organised nature of this crime and the effectiveness of the tactics being used to address the activity.

·       An example of work targeting the export of stolen vehicles: https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2023-12-31/jeep-slung-from-container-roof-is-latest-top-end-stolen-car-recovered

·       An example of work Essex Police do around the handling / movement of stolen vehicle parts:  https://www.essex.police.uk/news/essex/news/news/2023/december/epping-f…;

·       An example of the work done around identifying / intercepting stolen vehicles placed onto false identities and sold on to innocent purchasers:  https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/23947927.stolen-lexus-car-among-eight-others-recovered-grays-theft/ 

You can find crime prevention advice, helping protect your home from crime, on the Essex Police website Protecting your home from crime | Crime prevention | Essex Police. I would also urge you to keep reporting and if you see something suspicious to report it.

There are other security improvements available, beyond standard steering and wheel locks and drop bollards to physically prevent your vehicle being taken. Fitting a ‘sleeping battery’ to your remote locking key means it turns itself off when left for a few minutes, and cannot be read. A ‘ghost immobiliser’ can render a cloned key useless – but do check and get one which is compatible with your vehicle’s software.

Staying vigilant, reporting suspicious activity and sharing information is one of the best ways to protect you and your community from criminal activity including burglary and car theft. We have a very strong countywide Neighbourhood Watch group which link in closely with the local police, provide crime prevention advice and share data on recently crime trends.

I can commit to making sure that Essex Police treat car and motorbike theft as priority crimes and that we beat this crime surge.