Police issue car safety advice (From Swindon Advertiser)

Police issue car safety advice

3:42pm Friday 10th February 2012 in Local

Over recent weeks, Wiltshire Police has received a number of reports of vehicle crime across the county. This spate has included the theft of people’s possessions from vehicles and thefts of number plates and catalytic converters.

Often the theft of possessions is by an opportunistic thief who notices that a car has been left insecure and decides to break in.

However, the latest technique adopted by thieves is to use Bluetooth on their mobile phones to identify satnavs that have been hidden away but are still on, with their Bluetooth enabled.

Police are therefore advising members of the public to not only conceal satnavs in a place that is secure and out of sight, but to disable their Bluetooth and switch off the device.

Further advice to prevent the theft of possessions is as follows: • Clean satnav suction marks from your windscreen, as this is an immediate advert to thieves that a satnav is in the vehicle • Make sure car doors, windows and sun roofs are properly closed and locked • Remove your stereo if you can – mark it with the vehicle registration number if you can’t • Don’t leave laptops, mobile phones, handbags, credit cards, cheque books or vehicle documents in your car. If it is unavoidable – place them in the boot and ensure equipment is completely switched off • Leave your glove box open to show there is nothing in it • Leave nothing on show – you may know that there is no wallet in your jacket, but a thief will break a window just to check • If you own a van, make sure you remove tools overnight and display an appropriate sign in the rear window making this clear Criminals will often steal number plates in order to conceal the identity of their vehicle and commit crime. This can range from the theft of fuel from petrol stations to more serious offences such as robberies, burglaries and drug dealing.

To replace a number plate normally costs around £30. However, anti-tamper number plate screws are available from major retailers such as Halfords and only cost about £5.

The high price of scrap metal has also lead to a spate of catalytic converter thefts. For companies that own a fleet of vehicles it can be extremely expensive to replace these, with one catalytic converter costing around £2500. In order to prevent these thefts from occurring, anti-theft devices can be ordered over the internet and range in price from £80 to £200.

Detective Chief Inspector, Nick John, Head of Volume Crime at Wiltshire Police, said: “In order to prevent further thefts from taking place, officers are engaging in a number of proactive activities such as intelligence work around linked offences and targeted patrols in areas known to have a high number of thefts.

We are also working with companies that deal in second hand property such as scrap metal merchants, in order to potentially recover stolen property and identify offenders.

However, the public also have their part to play. By adhering to simple security advice you can reduce your chances of becoming a victim of crime. You may think that it’s safe to leave your car unlocked or possessions on show whilst you pop into a shop for five minutes, but a thief only needs a matter of seconds to break into your car and steal your belongings.”

For further crime prevention advice please contact your local Crime Prevention Officer on telephone number 101.

Anyone with information in relation to these thefts is asked to contact Wiltshire Police on 101. Alternatively they can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 where information may be left anonymously if preferred.