Top tips for preventing car crime

Since the widespread introduction of engine immobiliser systems to cars built after the late nineties, car crime has fallen dramatically. In addition, the market for second hand cars has become so saturated, due to the rising cost of car ownership, that much of the incentive for stealing standard family cars has been removed.

Engine immobilisers have made it virtually impossible to steal most newer cars outright, and has led to a huge reduction in the number of joyriding incidents, but professional car thieves are still on the loose, and have turned to stealing valuable, and relatively insecure items from cars such as the number plates, sat nav systems, and catalytic converters.

Catalytic converters are made from precious metals which are worth hundreds of pounds, and as such are a popular target for professional car thieves. There is little that you can do to prevent catalytic converter theft, other than leaving your vehicle in secure parking areas and installing a tamper proof alarm system.

In the event of your number plates being stolen, you should contact the police and the DVLA immediately, as if your plates are used to change the identity of another vehicle, then you will be responsible for any parking or speeding penalties incurred by the driver of the vehicle bearing your plates. Furthermore, if that vehicle is involved in any further crimes, then you will be under suspicion if you did not report the theft of your plates immediately.

Keep all traces of your sat nav system out of sight when you are not in the vehicle, as even if you have taken the main console indoors with you, the suction pads, holder, or even the traces left by the suction pads may lead a thief to believe that there is a valuable sat nav device hiding in your glove compartment and break in anyway.

If you do not have an immobiliser fitted, you should do so if at all possible, as this is easily the most effective anti theft device available. More than three quarters of cars on the road today are fitted with engine immobilisers, yet less than a third of those recovered by police after being stolen are fitted with such a device.

Older cars tend to be easier to steal than their newer counterparts. Cars that have been built after 1999 are considered to be a much lower theft risk by insurers than those built before 1996, which is considered to be the highest risk group.

However, professional thieves will go to extra lengths to steal valuable cars, such as burglary and pickpocketing, so if you have an expensive car, you should be extra careful about where you leave your keys.