30/06/2022 sees the National Vehicle Crime Conference which will be attended/opened by the Police and Crime Minister – Rt Hon Kit Malthouse MP. The theme is that Vehicle Crime is about more than theft of motor vehicles and theft from motor vehicles. More about the conference can be read here – and registration is FREE.
On 27/04/2022, the Rt Hon Kit Malthouse MP responded to a question for the Home Office:
We are continuing to work closely with police and motor manufacturers through the National Vehicle Crime Working Group to tackle vehicle-related thefts. This includes taking forward discussions with manufacturers about how to further build intelligence to prevent thefts of vehicles using electronic compromise.
The National Vehicle Crime Working Group has established a horizon-scanning group to identify potential future trends, threats and vulnerability in vehicle security and vehicle-related crime. Through this group we engage closely with academics, vehicle manufacturers and policing leads to undertake research and implement actions to mitigate future opportunities to criminally exploit technological and design changes in the automotive industry.
But what about now? What about the intelligence and approaches currently available to help address the present issues … about which we wrote to the Rt Hon Kit Malthouse MP, our report of 13/09/2019 (and heard no further)?
Talk of working together appears to be rhetoric – the reality is that the situation is only a little better than the 1972 ‘do not talk to insurers’ and is likely to get worse than 2002 when a MoU was established. It is time for the relevant, interested parties to get their act together, work in unison and establish simple workable processes; to stop over-complicating matters that can have a devastating effect on victims whilst enabling criminals to profit handsomely.