Car crime on the rise
Car thefts have risen by a third in a year but police only investigate about one in four.
According to the data gained through a Freedom of Information request (FOI) by the Liberal Democrats, police attended 10,963 of 47,228 car thefts last year – just 23%.
Avon and Somerset Police were found to have the worst record in England, as officers attended just 473 of 4,467 car thefts – a total of 11%. The second and third worst police forces were Cambridgeshire Police (12%) and Bedfordshire (13%).
In terms of the total number of car thefts recorded, the West Midlands was far ahead of its nearest police force – with 15,899 recorded crimes.
The Home Office stated: “Car theft is a truly distressing crime, and we are closely working with the automotive industry and police to ensure our response is as strong as it can be. Recent figures from the Crime Survey for England and Wales show vehicle crime is down 18% since December 2019. We expect police to take vehicle crime seriously and investigate thoroughly.”
